Aldebaran Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,160,200.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $72.44 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.96. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.