Summit Global Investments Has $6.57 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Global Investments decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,570 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Kroger were worth $6,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third 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 period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $1,967,114.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares in the company, valued at $6,861,803.52. The trade was a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Kroger stock opened at $65.38 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.86. The company has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

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.