Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires 559 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,081,098 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Kroger were worth $66,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $66.16 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The stock has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

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.