The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,711 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,861,803.52. This trade represents a 22.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE KR opened at $66.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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

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.