Kintegral Advisory LLC Has $1.73 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kintegral Advisory LLC decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,318 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, 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 value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % 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 worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on KR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $46.96 and a 1 year high of $66.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.77 and a 200-day moving average of $58.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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.