The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,210 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Kroger by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 103,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,953,000 after acquiring an additional 48,843 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4,697.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 448,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,682,000 after acquiring an additional 438,856 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of Kroger by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 9,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

KR stock opened at $65.03 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $46.96 and a one year high of $66.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $61.77 and a 200-day moving average of $58.26.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

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.