American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 971,022 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,781 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $59,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 63,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 20,024 shares during the period. ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mindset Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.12. 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 capitalization of $46.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $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, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $1,047,389.17. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last quarter. 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.