The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Lowered by Amundi

Amundi cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,945,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,013,679 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.55% of Kroger worth $234,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 owns 217,523 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $66.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $67.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

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.