Adero Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 3,587 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Adero Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $64.86 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $65.75. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.81.

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.