Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 136,334 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 69.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,662 shares of the company's stock after selling 136,334 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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 Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $72.20. 5,496,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,591,020. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.63. The stock has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius cut Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.06.

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.