Northern Trust Corp Acquires 916,230 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,829,401 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 916,230 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $478,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Kroger Stock Up 1.4 %

Kroger stock opened at $71.38 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $47.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.