Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 6,697 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 349,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,697 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $21,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 25,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Park Capital Management LLC WI purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,002,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 175,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,721,000 after purchasing an additional 56,946 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.83. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $45.88 and a 12 month high of $66.18.

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

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in 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 believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 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.