Summit Global Investments Sells 71,570 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Global Investments trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,460 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,570 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Kroger were worth $6,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company's stock worth $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,828,000 after buying an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company's stock worth $79,219,000 after acquiring an additional 857,008 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Kroger Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE:KR traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $66.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,745,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,854,786. 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 company has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business's 50-day moving average is $63.57 and its 200-day moving average is $60.12. 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 quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.