Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 335,393 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 20.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,318,154 shares of the company's stock after selling 335,393 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.20% of Kroger worth $89,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3%

Kroger stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.48. 4,192,063 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,892,258. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $68.91 and its 200-day moving average is $66.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.