Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 6,491 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,297 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,491 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $62.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.82. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $66.26.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

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.