Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,410,618 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,384 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.21% of Kroger worth $95,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 32,008 shares of the company's stock worth $2,167,000 after buying an additional 4,556 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Kroger by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 43,500 shares of the company's stock worth $2,945,000 after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the period. BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,940 shares of the company's stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in Kroger by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 51,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Kroger Stock Performance
NYSE:KR traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.74. 3,658,116 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,081,292. 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 50 day simple moving average of $69.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.60. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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 reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.16.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Kroger
Insider Activity at Kroger
In other news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.
Kroger Profile
(
Free Report)
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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