Amundi Has $234.46 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Amundi cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,945,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,013,679 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Kroger were worth $234,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in Kroger by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $66.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $67.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock valued at $10,587,476 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.