The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 876 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,449,000 after purchasing an additional 9,430 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $67.05 on Monday. The stock 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 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $71.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.88. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Melius cut Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.