Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Sells 280 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,665 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $63.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $66.26. The stock has a market cap of $46.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

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.