Meritage Portfolio Management Has $4.57 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 74,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.25. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $64.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.