The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 374,961 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 90,023 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Kroger worth $25,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 82,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 127,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,462 shares of company stock worth $19,733,163. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded down $0.73 on Thursday, reaching $69.50. 3,716,237 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,875,624. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $69.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.82.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.