SVB Wealth LLC Sells 68,153 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SVB Wealth LLC lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,153 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,126,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552,989 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,410,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,220,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 3,826,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,890,000 after purchasing an additional 933,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $55.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.63 and its 200 day moving average is $47.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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.