The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Position Raised by Drake & Associates LLC

Drake & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 25.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,026 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,974 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for about 0.6% of Drake & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $1,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded up $0.96 on Monday, hitting $70.79. 1,476,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,863,301. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.00. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.11. The firm has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.