Meyer Handelman Co. Invests $4.63 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 68,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,626,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,186 shares of the company's stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 85,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 27,753 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,833 shares of the company's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, hitting $66.84. 2,649,107 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,001,351. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.65. The firm has a market cap of $44.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.