Mariner LLC Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 220.9% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 179,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $566,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,391,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $71.30 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $71.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.76. The company has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at $8,870,057.28. The trade was a 19.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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 has an average 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.