Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. Sells 3,418 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,418 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $71.30 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.15 and a 200 day moving average of $61.84.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger 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.