The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,556 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 1.1% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.5% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after buying an additional 1,876,397 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after acquiring an additional 857,008 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

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.