9,785,603 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,785,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,390,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.77 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.31. 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 posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.