Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 31,477 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. by 0.6%, now owning over 5 million shares valued at approximately $343 million as of recent SEC disclosures.
• Insider selling included VP Carin L. Fike and EVP Timothy A. Massa, who sold shares totaling over $1.8 million, representing decreases in their positions of 25.02% and 6.62%, respectively.
• Kroger recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, which reflects an increase from the previous dividend of $0.32, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,477 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of Kroger worth $342,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.86 on Tuesday, reaching $73.49. The stock had a trading volume of 7,209,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,072,285. The business's 50 day moving average is $70.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.09. The company has a market cap of $48.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $50.69 and a 1 year high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.53.

About Kroger

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.