Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,883,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,312,688 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $359,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ranmore Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $9,539,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $332,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 298,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,133,000 after buying an additional 11,741 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its position in Kroger by 166.7% in the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 20,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 12,866 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.10 and a 200-day moving average of $60.96.

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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board 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 repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.