PDS Planning Inc Grows Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,282 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 21,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 23,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 262,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,027,000 after acquiring an additional 34,585 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 213,217 shares of company stock valued at $14,275,261 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Company 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.