The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.00 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.46. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.49 and a twelve month high of $65.75.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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.