HM Payson & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

HM Payson & Co. reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,685 shares of the company’s stock after selling 509 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 14.3% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,688,000 after purchasing an additional 40,914 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 17.1% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 31.4% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.81 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $67.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.27 and its 200 day moving average is $59.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Kroger 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.