The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Lowered by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Kroger Co. by 4.9%, selling 411,558 shares, and now holds 8,056,306 shares, which represents 1.3% of its total holdings.
• Kroger recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35, with a dividend yield of 2.0%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.49 per share for its most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, although its revenue fell slightly year-over-year.

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,056,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 411,558 shares during the period. Kroger makes up approximately 1.3% of LSV Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. LSV Asset Management owned 1.22% of Kroger worth $545,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $123,829,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 7,363.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company's stock worth $115,506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,535 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% 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 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. 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. 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 note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.16.

Kroger Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of KR stock traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.42. The company had a trading volume of 6,887,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,199,993. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.42 and its 200 day moving average is $67.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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.