The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,790 shares of the company's stock after selling 203,587 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Kroger worth $25,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.85. 2,675,747 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,314,166. The business's 50 day moving average price is $65.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger Company 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.