Naples Global Advisors LLC Sells 299 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Naples Global Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Kroger Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of KR opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.64. The company has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $65.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.