Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $198.11 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,239,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,897 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.45% of Kroger worth $198,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 40,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,808,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC now owns 18,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $67.05 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $71.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.79. 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 cap of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.