Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR – Get Rating) by 176.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,674 shares of the company stock after buying an additional 8,724 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $ 784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,666,470 shares of the company stock valued at $ 709,064,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112,175 shares during the period. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 6,564,640 shares of the company stock valued at $ 297,116,000 after purchasing an additional 33,929 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $ 236,958,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,318,317 shares of the company stock valued at $ 195,448,000 after purchasing an additional 132,555 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 28.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,116,723 shares of the company stock valued at $ 126,008,000 after purchasing an additional 696,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.52% of the company stock.
In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 34,812 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $ 59.50, for a total transaction of $ 2,071,314.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 162,207 shares of the company stock, valued at $ 9,651,316.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 50,283 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $ 58.03, for a total value of $ 2,917,922.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 163,956 shares of the company stock, valued at approximately $ 9,514,366.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company stock.
NYSE KR opened at $ 48.45 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $ 37.26 and a 1 year high of $ 62.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $ 34.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a P / E / G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.49. The company 50 day simple moving average is $ 52.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $ 50.69.
Kroger (NYSE: KR – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 16th. The company reported $ 1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $ 1.27 by $ 0.18. Kroger had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 31.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $ 1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 15th will be paid a $ 1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 12th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $ 0.21. This represents a $ 4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.59%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.97%.
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $ 62.00 to $ 64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $ 60.00 to $ 64.00 in a report on Thursday, March 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $ 61.00 to $ 75.00 in a report on Friday, April 8th. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $ 47.00 to $ 57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $ 50.00 to $ 53.00 in a report on Friday, June 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $ 52.22.
About Kroger: (Get Rating)
The Kroger Co operates as a 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.
Recommended Stories:
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR – Get Rating).
Receive News & Ratings for Kroger Daily: – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Kroger and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
.