The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Cut by Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s holdings in Kroger were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 9,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 40,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $67.05 on Friday. 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 moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.83. The company has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.