Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,599 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 643 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,707 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kroger by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,175,000 after buying an additional 115,264 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Kroger by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 102,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,671,000 after buying an additional 37,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:KR opened at $54.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.49. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.83 and a 200 day moving average of $48.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.