Cresset Asset Management LLC Has $851,000 Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cresset Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 82.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,912 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,238 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after purchasing an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after purchasing an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock worth $478,768,000 after buying an additional 916,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.79. 7,217,478 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,709,841. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius Research lowered shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.06.

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.