Patten & Patten Inc. TN Sells 1,185 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $351,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 393,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,085,000 after buying an additional 3,426 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Zevin Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC now owns 203,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,457,000 after acquiring an additional 18,557 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE KR opened at $65.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.52.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,001. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.