Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,794 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Kroger by 110.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 163.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $65.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,001 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.