SVB Wealth LLC Invests $9.77 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 159,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,770,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 25.5% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Kroger by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 66,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 21.1% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.19.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Kroger stock opened at $64.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $48.21 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.57. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Company 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.