The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Trimmed by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 70.3%, owning 50,097 shares valued at approximately $3.39 million after selling 118,386 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Kroger recently reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.45, despite a 0.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, enhancing the annual yield to 2.02%, with a payout ratio of 38.15%.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 70.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,097 shares of the company's stock after selling 118,386 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,829,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 7,363.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,535 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Barclays assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.29. 5,296,880 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,101,950. 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 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.31 and a 200-day moving average of $67.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. Corporate 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.