The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,057 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,522 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $20,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Kroger stock 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $66.26.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

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.