Greenleaf Trust Purchases 506 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,216 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $61.65 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.43 and its 200-day moving average is $57.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48. 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 earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.