Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Reduces Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 70,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,321 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 53.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 5,853 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Kroger by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.7% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 35,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $1,252,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 12.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $66.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 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 $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.93%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.