Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 1,321 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,321 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,131.0% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 95,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,841,000 after purchasing an additional 87,762 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Kroger by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,066,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,569,000 after buying an additional 85,997 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Clune & Associates LTD. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $733,000. Finally, CMC Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $240,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,648.55. This trade represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given 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 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.