Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires 1,426,131 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1,045.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,562,600 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,426,131 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 0.6% of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Kroger worth $95,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,963,000. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 18,024 shares of the company's stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Kroger by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,768,000 after acquiring an additional 916,230 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,846 shares of the company's stock worth $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc grew its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 103,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,351,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

KR stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,206,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,607,711. The company has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $67.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.75.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors 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 yield of 1.78%. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % 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 valued at $22,867,124 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kroger

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.