Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells $1,170,570.15 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,617.56. This represents a 11.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Yael Cosset also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 10th, Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.24 and a 200-day moving average of $59.78. The stock has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 141.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 15,130 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Kroger by 6.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,000 after purchasing an additional 6,797 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 73.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,943,000 after purchasing an additional 36,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 6.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 390,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,373,000 after purchasing an additional 22,547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

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.