Achmea Investment Management B.V. Has $23.56 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 385,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,780 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 245.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 1.2% during the 3rd 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.01 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $62.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.29. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 160,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,001. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.