Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.06.

Kroger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $64.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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.