Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $2.19 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 954 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake 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 buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the third 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. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,001. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $66.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.34.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger Company 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.