National Pension Service Decreases Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

National Pension Service trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,325,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,233 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Kroger were worth $81,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 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 boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was 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 owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $63.71 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.45. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $47.35 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The company has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

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

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.