ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $10.42 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has invested approximately $10.42 million in The Kroger Co., acquiring 153,865 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Kroger, with JPMorgan increasing its target from $72.00 to $82.00 and Melius upgrading the stock from "sell" to "hold."
• Kroger recently announced a dividend increase from $0.32 to $0.35, with a yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 34.88%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 153,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,415,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of KR opened at $73.74 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last three months. 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.

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