Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 1,686,919 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 41.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,364,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,686,919 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Kroger worth $144,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,581,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,459,000 after buying an additional 1,090,440 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on KR shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $71.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.