LSV Asset Management Sells 339,483 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

LSV Asset Management lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,467,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 339,483 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 1.2% of LSV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $517,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after purchasing an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.77 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.50 and a 200 day moving average of $61.17. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger Company 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.