Glenview Trust co Has $322,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Glenview Trust co lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KR. Roth Mkm raised 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. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.88.

Kroger Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.61.

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

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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,040 shares of company stock valued at $12,805,838. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.