Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 498 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $566,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $1,047,389.17. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,648.55. The trade was a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $65.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.86.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.