Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,834 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.8% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $68.13 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.60. The firm has a market cap of $49.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’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 value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.39.

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.