UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 865,699 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,363,964 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 865,699 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.88% of Kroger worth $389,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $69.49 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.70 and its 200-day moving average is $64.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius upgraded Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.