Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Has $835,000 Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 49.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,337 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $66.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,653,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,726,670. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.66. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 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.