Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 359,121 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $21,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $67.78 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.98 and its 200 day moving average is $64.36. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. 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.