The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC

Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,617 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 110.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,397 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,219,000 after acquiring an additional 857,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 569.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 812,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,538,000 after acquiring an additional 690,884 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.24 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.48. 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 Kroger Co. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $65.75. The company has a market capitalization of $47.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Seven research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 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.