QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $28.24 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 461,797 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,008 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Kroger worth $28,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after purchasing an additional 43,143 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 160,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,183,000 after acquiring an additional 21,283 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 15,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $63.71 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $47.35 and a twelve month high of $66.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.45. The company has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

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.