Achmea Investment Management B.V. Sells 6,780 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,780 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $23,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $65.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.29. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign 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.