The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 792 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,795,000 after acquiring an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % 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 three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $65.83. The firm has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.64.

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 return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.