The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Foguth Wealth Management LLC.

Foguth Wealth Management LLC. lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,366 shares during the period. Foguth Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth $127,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 25.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 135,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Kroger by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $64.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.25. The company has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.06.

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.