Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 290,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,662 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $17,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 245.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 27,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 87,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,997,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 292,813 shares of company stock worth $19,131,375. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $66.56 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.