World Investment Advisors Buys 16,644 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 168.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,528 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,644 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $1,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,581,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,459,000 after buying an additional 1,090,440 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 5.2 %

NYSE KR opened at $67.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.83. 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 earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Company 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.