Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,255 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 47,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 53,350.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,335 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Finally, Coordinated Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.3 %

KR opened at $67.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.15. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The company has a market capitalization of $48.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results 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 for 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%. 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 plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.94.

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.