Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Decreases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Kroger by 11,570.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,828,000 after buying an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 857,008 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Kroger by 569.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 812,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,538,000 after buying an additional 690,884 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 2.2 %

KR opened at $65.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $65.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. Seven 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.06.

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.