The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,201 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 245.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 27,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 2.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 87,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 292,813 shares of company stock valued at $19,131,375. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $66.56 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.