The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,998 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,308 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 18,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 949,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,091,000 after purchasing an additional 12,577 shares during the last quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 238,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 679,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,536,000 after purchasing an additional 6,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,825,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,577,037. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $47.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $67.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.