Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 6,431 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 325,585 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,431 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $19,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Seven research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

KR stock opened at $66.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.36. The company has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.