Foundry Partners LLC Has $23.08 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Foundry Partners LLC reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 341,002 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,577 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises approximately 1.2% of Foundry Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Foundry Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Kroger Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.36. The stock had a trading volume of 5,350,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,943,445. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $47.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 2.28 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.15%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 243,815 shares of company stock valued at $17,652,983 over the last ninety days. 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.