Shell Asset Management Co. Has $2.16 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 59.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,284 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $68.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.06.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

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 transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,370.19. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.