Yael Cosset Sells 17,685 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,617.56. This represents a 11.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Yael Cosset also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 10th, Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $68.51. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $264,207,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Kroger by 11,570.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.