Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 281,878 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,269,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 281,878 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $125,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $6,524,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 16.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 138,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 19,186 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.31.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $62.06 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.91. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $43.51 and a 52-week high of $63.59. The firm has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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

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.