The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Cutler Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Cutler Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 2.9% in Q1, now holding 184,755 shares valued at $12.51 million, which is 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Kroger plans to pay a $0.35 quarterly dividend on September 1st, up from the previous $0.32, reflecting a 2.02% yield.
• The company reported $1.49 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, although revenue slightly fell by 0.3% year-over-year.

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,465 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for 1.5% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $12,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim increased their target price 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. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger 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, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.42. The stock had a trading volume of 6,887,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,126,661. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The firm has a market cap of $47.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $69.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.28.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Kroger 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.