Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $223,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:KR opened at $66.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.21. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,846,648.55. The trade was a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.