The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 403,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 60,804 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $24,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th 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 period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $67.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, 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. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.52.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This trade represents a 56.35 % 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.