Level Four Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,293 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,293 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $66.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.43. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued 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 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.