The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 916,230 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.08% of Kroger worth $478,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,581,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.06.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $71.99. The stock had a trading volume of 6,206,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,607,714. The company's 50 day moving average price is $67.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.86. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger 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.