Sigma Planning Corp Sells 1,981 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,981 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:KR opened at $65.03 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.26. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $46.96 and a 52-week high of $66.18. 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 cap of $47.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on KR shares. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.