Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Has $8.43 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,873 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,834 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises approximately 1.8% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Kroger were worth $8,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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Kroger Stock Up 4.9 %

KR stock traded up $3.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $70.59. 14,954,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,155,705. The firm's 50-day moving average is $64.82 and its 200-day moving average is $60.72. 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 $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $70.91.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.