HUB Investment Partners LLC Has $421,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

HUB Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Kroger by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 908,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,540,000 after purchasing an additional 98,543 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 54,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 25,514 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 312,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Kroger by 16,801.7% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 39,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 39,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Kroger by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 34,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.86. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Company 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.