Becker Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Becker Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,708 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $16,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1,045.0% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,553,000 after buying an additional 1,426,131 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,581,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,440 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger 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 value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $71.38 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.02 and a 200-day moving average of $62.56. 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 $47.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.