MML Investors Services LLC Grows Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,119 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,609 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,524,000. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 15,048 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $62.06 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.89. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $43.51 and a 12 month high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.31.

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.