River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 253,914 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,639,129 shares of the company's stock after selling 253,914 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.3% of River Road Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Kroger worth $100,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 884,609 shares of the company's stock worth $50,688,000 after acquiring an additional 40,914 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Kroger by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,531 shares of the company's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 245.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,001 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.12. The company had a trading volume of 8,478,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,838,480. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $62.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.34. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.94%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger Company 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.