Lincluden Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lincluden Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,942 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,082 shares during the quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st 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 holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.47. The company had a trading volume of 3,396,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,760,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.31 and a 200-day moving average of $66.99. The company has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This trade represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.16.

Kroger Company 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.