HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $851,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,861,803.52. The trade was a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius lowered shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.39.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $68.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.41 and its 200-day moving average is $60.60. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $49.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.