Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 8.7% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 462,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,341,000 after acquiring an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of KR opened at $66.81 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $67.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

About Kroger

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.