International Assets Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 97.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 438,018 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Park National Corp OH lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 45,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $59.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.21.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on KR. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

About Kroger

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.