The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 57.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,619 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,539 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 40,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 15,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim boosted 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. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 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. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.4 %

Kroger stock opened at $64.81 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.21 and a fifty-two week high of $66.26. 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 company has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Company 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.