Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $47.24 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 772,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,337 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $47,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th 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. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $67.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.79. The firm has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.