Pendal Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 97.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,689 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,757 shares during the period. Pendal Group Ltd's holdings in Kroger were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 65,735,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,875,933,000 after purchasing an additional 3,443,687 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Kroger by 160.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,114,170 shares of the company's stock worth $136,245,000 after buying an additional 1,919,463 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,410,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 403.7% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,180,854 shares of the company's stock worth $51,662,000 after purchasing an additional 946,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management increased its position in shares of Kroger by 175.8% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 1,306,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,943,000 after purchasing an additional 832,615 shares during the period. 78.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $47.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.65.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $137,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,842,747.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $137,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 40,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,842,747.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 62,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.47, for a total value of $2,900,378.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,931,281.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,481 shares of company stock worth $4,695,775 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $49.04 on Thursday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.81 and a fifty-two week high of $62.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $34.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.89 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 1.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.88%.

About Kroger

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The Kroger Co engages in the operation of supermarkets and multi-department stores. Its brands include Big K, Check This Out?, Heritage Farm, Simple Truth, and Simple Truth Organic. The company was founded by Barney Kroger in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.

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