OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Has $661,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,958 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,035,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,935,000 after purchasing an additional 144,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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 net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.