Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $3.35 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wambolt & Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,556 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises approximately 1.1% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $65.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.48 and its 200-day moving average is $60.04. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $68.51. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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

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.