Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Has $80.74 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,320,409 shares of the company's stock after selling 163,025 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for 2.7% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned 0.18% of Kroger worth $80,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $66.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,088,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,848,948. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $48.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.