Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $2.12 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,593 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,684 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Kroger by 110.5% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 163.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.78.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger 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.