The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Soltis Investment Advisors LLC

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 104,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,772 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

Kroger stock opened at $65.00 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.46. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.49 and a 12 month high of $65.75. 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

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.