The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Bokf Na

Bokf Na boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 57,229 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,850 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $72.38 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.19. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.06.

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.