Sei Investments Co. Reduces Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 913,550 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,528 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.13% of Kroger worth $55,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,260,000. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $526,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 32.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 287,033 shares of the company's stock worth $16,447,000 after purchasing an additional 70,009 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $847,000. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 57.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,820,000 after buying an additional 195,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value 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. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % 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 worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

Kroger stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $66.16. 5,275,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,859,598. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $63.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.16. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.