446 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by TCTC Holdings LLC

TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $566,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.61. The company has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,040 shares of company stock valued at $12,805,838 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim boosted their price target 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. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.