Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 16,253 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,417,342 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,253 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.67% of Kroger worth $299,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.74. 5,560,372 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,891,424. The company has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.12. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 82,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Melius Research raised Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

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.