The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 61.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150,291 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KR. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after acquiring an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $63.71 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $47.35 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.