Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,066,859 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,997 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Kroger worth $65,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

KR opened at $66.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.31. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51.

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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.