Kintegral Advisory LLC Has $1.29 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kintegral Advisory LLC lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,988 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,315 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 126,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,590,000 after buying an additional 27,869 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 10,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 215,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,566,000 after buying an additional 2,397 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 35,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.0%

KR stock opened at $69.50 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 2.01%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

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.

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