Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $1.10 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,045 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,252,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Kroger by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 205,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,761,000 after purchasing an additional 13,761 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $416,000. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % 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 valued at $15,001,418 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.77 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.04 and a 200-day moving average of $60.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.