Vestcor Inc Sells 9,174 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 391,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,174 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 0.8% of Vestcor Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $23,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’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 owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,001. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $65.01 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.58 and its 200-day moving average is $59.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger 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.