GTS Securities LLC Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

GTS Securities LLC cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 92.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,373 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,368 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Kroger by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,768,000 after buying an additional 916,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.06.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of KR traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.17. 7,648,531 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,711,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.