The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,121 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value 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. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven equities research 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, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of KR opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $46.96 and a 1-year high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47.

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

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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