The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 621,103 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.09% of Kroger worth $37,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $64.81 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $48.21 and a one year high of $66.26. The company has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.61.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.