Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Reduces Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 394,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,051 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Kroger worth $24,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.75. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $45.88 and a 1 year high of $66.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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.