Ledyard National Bank Sells 12,608 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ledyard National Bank lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 215,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,608 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for 1.2% of Ledyard National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $13,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $64.86 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $65.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $46.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results 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 business 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%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.