The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 119,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,004 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3 %

KR stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.90. The stock has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 1.78%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Melius downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06.

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.