AIA Group Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Kroger Co. by 248.2%, purchasing an additional 31,024 shares, bringing its total holdings to 43,523 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million.
• The Kroger Co. announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, effective September 1st, which represents an annual yield of 1.9%.
• Analysts' ratings for Kroger vary, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and price targets ranging from $70.00 to $83.00 per share.

AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 248.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,523 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,024 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Kroger were worth $2,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. CCM Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,108,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $178,385,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KR. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Melius Research raised Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.53.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.67. The stock had a trading volume of 4,419,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,641,129. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.