Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 1.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 2.16% of the company valued at about $967.9 million.
• Kroger's recent quarterly earnings report showed $1.49 earnings per share, surpassing estimates and revealing a 0.3% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, a boost from the previous $0.32, which reflects a yield of 2.0%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 186,302 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.16% of Kroger worth $967,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Kroger by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Kroger by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock worth $20,834,000 after buying an additional 24,849 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $69.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,392,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,594,552. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.37. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $46.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost 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 is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.53.

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.