Timothy A. Massa Sells 29,554 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 103,092 shares in the company, valued at $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.70. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. The company has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $591,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 282,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,302,000 after buying an additional 122,680 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 22,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.