Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 41,319 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,633 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,319 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $566,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,210,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KR. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.88.

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Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.02 on Monday, hitting $65.38. 4,800,423 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,852,809. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $63.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during 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%. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger 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.