Fourpath Capital Management LLC Has $4.05 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fourpath Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Kroger by 110.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after buying an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 163.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Kroger by 569.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 812,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,538,000 after buying an additional 690,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $63.32 on Tuesday. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $64.10. The stock has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.43 and its 200-day moving average is $57.13.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KR. Bank of America boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.