The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Position Decreased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 876 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,785 shares of company stock worth $15,393,666. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Melius Research lowered shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $67.05 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.88. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The company has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.