The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Chase Investment Counsel Corp

Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,014,168,000 after purchasing an additional 498,995 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,023,000 after buying an additional 78,710 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,005,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,242,000 after buying an additional 10,556 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,246,000 after buying an additional 50,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last ninety days. 1.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $55.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,481,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,865,600. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.29. The stock has a market cap of $39.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

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.