The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,969 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $755,000. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $8,577,000. Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in Kroger by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 31,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,260,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.39.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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 company 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents 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 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger 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.