Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 1,267 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 430.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 613.0% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,180 shares of company stock worth $2,750,322. 1.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $55.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 465,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,851,848. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.