Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $318.02 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,200,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 232,590 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $318,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven 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 stock. According to 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 news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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 Stock Down 1.6 %

Kroger stock opened at $64.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.96 and a fifty-two week high of $66.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.08.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy 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 stock is undervalued.

About Kroger

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.