denkapparat Operations GmbH Invests $468,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 53.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 5,853 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Kroger by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.7% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 35,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $1,252,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $66.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.87 and a 200 day moving average of $60.21. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The stock has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Kroger

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.