Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,507 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $458,000. F M Investments LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 16,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 135,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,185,000 after purchasing an additional 14,723 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $55.49 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Kroger Profile

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.