Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 3,595 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 335.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,667 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,595 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in 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 Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.95. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.