Twin Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,151 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,520 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $68,581,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 5.2 %

NYSE KR opened at $67.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.88. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $71.93. The company has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 business 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 analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

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.