Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,662 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $17,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $66.56 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.25. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 292,813 shares of company stock valued at $19,131,375 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.