Level Four Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,293 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $66.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.04 and a 200 day moving average of $60.43. 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 company has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51.

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 forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.