Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Makes New $730,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during 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. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $68.79 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06.

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.