Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 59,384 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp has reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 4.0%, selling 59,384 shares, and now holds 1,410,618 shares valued at approximately $95.5 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC, have increased their holdings in Kroger, with the ownership by institutional investors currently at 80.93%.
• Kroger recently announced a dividend increase, raising its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, reflecting a net annual yield of 2.0%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,410,618 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,384 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.21% of Kroger worth $95,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.16.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.42. The stock had a trading volume of 6,887,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,199,993. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last three months. 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.