Intact Investment Management Inc. Makes New $67,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.12 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

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.