Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Acquires 935 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KR. UBS Group increased 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,617.56. This trade represents a 11.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 196,285 shares of company stock worth $13,234,959 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

KR opened at $65.46 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year 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. The stock has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger 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.