The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Lifted by Family Management Corp

Family Management Corp boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,064 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,104 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up about 0.8% of Family Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Family Management Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % 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 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE KR opened at $72.38 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The stock has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06.

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.