M&T Bank Corp Sells 240 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its stake in Kroger by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $66.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.27 and a 200 day moving average of $58.95. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $67.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

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.