The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Sound Shore Management Inc. CT

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,320,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 163,025 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 2.7% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned approximately 0.18% of Kroger worth $80,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clune & Associates LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $733,000. CMC Financial Group bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $1,810,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 505,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,936,000 after buying an additional 7,935 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $65.38 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.95. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51. The stock has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.