Two Sigma Securities LLC Purchases New Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $865,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $598,390,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth 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. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,028,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,577,578. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63. The stock has a market cap of $47.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.