GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Sells 492 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 110.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,397 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,219,000 after acquiring an additional 857,008 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of KR opened at $65.12 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.74 and its 200-day moving average is $59.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share 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 buy 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.