The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,841 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $65.04 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $65.75. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $60.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.57. The company has a market cap of $47.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.