The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,346,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,641 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of Kroger worth $82,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 25.5% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 145,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 6.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 81,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

Kroger stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.83. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $45.88 and a 52 week high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.