United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,235 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $71.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.76. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

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.