The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,920 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:KR opened at $63.32 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.13. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $64.10.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.80.

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.