Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $574,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 66.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 3.3 %

Kroger stock opened at $62.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $45.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.00 and a 1-year high of $66.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity

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

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.