Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 95,014 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise invested approximately $6.43 million to acquire 95,014 shares of The Kroger Co. in the first quarter of this year.
• The Kroger Co. reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.45.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, which represents a 2.02% dividend yield, payable on September 1st.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 95,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,431,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 worth $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,768,000 after purchasing an additional 916,230 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,156,000 after purchasing an additional 865,699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Guggenheim lifted 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. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.16.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.29. The company had a trading volume of 5,296,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,518,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's fifty day moving average is $69.31 and its 200-day moving average is $67.19. The company has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm 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 company posted $1.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.