Rhumbline Advisers Sells 23,641 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,346,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,641 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Kroger were worth $82,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $45.88 and a 1 year high of $66.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.36 and its 200-day moving average is $57.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

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.