The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Lessened by Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,099 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Kroger were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1,377.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 78.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 43,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $1,903,610.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 135,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,498.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $137,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 40,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,842,747.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 43,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $1,903,610.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 135,611 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,498.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,299 shares of company stock worth $5,124,089. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.25.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $46.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.87. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $41.81 and a 52-week high of $62.78.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $34.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.89 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.88%.

Kroger Profile

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The Kroger Co engages in the operation of supermarkets and multi-department stores. Its brands include Big K, Check This Out?, Heritage Farm, Simple Truth, and Simple Truth Organic. The company was founded by Barney Kroger in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.