The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 10,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Truepoint Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Truepoint Inc. now owns 8,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. 78.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $47.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $1,903,610.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 62,414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.47, for a total transaction of $2,900,378.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,281.13. The transaction 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 the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,003,498.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,299 shares of company stock worth $5,124,089. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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 50-day moving average of $45.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.87. The stock has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $41.81 and a 1-year high of $62.78.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.09. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.88%.

About Kroger

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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.