Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 226,838 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 58,356 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Kroger were worth $13,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $601,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in Kroger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 85,391 shares of the company's stock worth $5,323,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,125,988 shares of the company's stock worth $191,154,000 after purchasing an additional 178,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 67,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,109,000 after buying an additional 6,489 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius cut Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Kroger
Kroger Price Performance
NYSE:KR traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.79. The stock had a trading volume of 7,217,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,674,409. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Kroger Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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