Edgestream Partners L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 590.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,013 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,229 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:KR traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.36. The company had a trading volume of 5,350,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,930,770. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $68.88 and a 200 day moving average of $66.53. The company has a market cap of $47.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $50.69 and a 1 year high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. 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 dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,815 shares of company stock worth $17,652,983. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.