Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Sells 344 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $61.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.02. The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board 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 purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.80.

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.