The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Raised by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,876 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in Kroger by 139.2% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 26,639 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,449,000 after purchasing an additional 9,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.39.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

KR opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.58 and a 200-day moving average of $60.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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.