The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,619,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Kroger by 378.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,988,000 after acquiring an additional 605,591 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,364,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,814,000 after purchasing an additional 548,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KR. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.78. 4,937,997 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,340,941. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.61. The company has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

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.