OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Has $4.11 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,194 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,489 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Kroger were worth $4,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Melius cut shares of 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. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.39.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $69.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,225,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,656,908. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business's 50-day moving average price is $68.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.89. The company has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.