Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Sells 562 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 562 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% during 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 during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $65.38 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The stock has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This trade represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.