DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $127.54 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,929,132 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,729 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.29% of Kroger worth $127,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% 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 worth $17,649,963 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3%

Kroger stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.48. 4,192,063 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,892,258. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.26 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors 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 yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.