American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 971,022 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,781 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.13% of Kroger worth $59,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Kroger by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 287,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,447,000 after purchasing an additional 70,009 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 57.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,820,000 after buying an additional 195,557 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 20.9% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 5,853 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 1.99%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.