The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Kroger by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 145,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 48,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KR. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.20 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.75. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $45.88 and a 52 week high of $66.18.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

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.