Axa S.A. Increases Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AXA S.A. increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348,416 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,300 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $21,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,501,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,618,300. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $47.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.96 and a 200 day moving average of $63.19.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

Kroger Company 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.