Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 6,431 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 325,585 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,431 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $19,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $598,390,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 159,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,748,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 37,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 8,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Kroger by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 57,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,467 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $66.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.36. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger 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.