Prudential Financial Inc. Has $29.11 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 476,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208,160 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $29,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.12.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

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.