Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Sells 29,554 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kroger Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:KR opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.86 and its 200 day moving average is $59.61. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 1.93%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.