J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $2.67 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. by 45.3%, purchasing an additional 12,271 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to $2,665,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Transce3nd LLC and Accredited Wealth Management LLC, have also made new investments in Kroger, with institutional ownership now at 80.93%.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35, reflecting a 2.0% yield and showing positive growth from the previous $0.32 dividend.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 45.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,374 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Kroger were worth $2,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 201,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 32,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,556 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 43,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.99. 842,474 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,073,170. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.57. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.11. The company has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last quarter. 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.