Cairn Investment Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cairn Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,615 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Kroger comprises approximately 2.1% of Cairn Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cairn Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at $43,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,377.3% during the third quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 62,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.47, for a total value of $2,900,378.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,931,281.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $1,903,610.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 135,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,498.97. 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 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,931,281.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,299 shares of company stock worth $5,124,089. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Stephens dropped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kroger from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kroger from $47.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.25.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $46.78 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $41.81 and a 52-week high of $62.78. The stock has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.09. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 1.51%. The firm had revenue of $34.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

Kroger Profile

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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.