Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 7,282 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,589 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,282 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,861,803.52. The trade was a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock opened at $66.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.72 and a 200-day moving average of $60.16. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51.

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. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.