Corient Private Wealth LLC Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,909 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned 0.05% of Kroger worth $22,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 393,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,426 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Zevin Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC now owns 203,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,457,000 after acquiring an additional 18,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,217 shares of company stock valued at $14,275,261. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:KR opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

About Kroger

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.