Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells 17,685 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total value of $1,170,570.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,617.56. The trade was a 11.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Yael Cosset also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 10th, Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.24 and its 200 day moving average is $59.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kroger

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.