Nuveen LLC Takes $178.39 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co., purchasing 2.6 million shares worth approximately $178.39 million, representing about 0.40% of the company's stock.
• Kroger recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, which is set to be paid on September 1st.
• Analysts' ratings for Kroger show a mix of outlooks, with ten analysts recommending a "hold" and nine suggesting a "buy," while the average price target is $70.16.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,635,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,385,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Kroger at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on 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, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.16.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $74.37 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $70.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.09. The stock has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.9%. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger Company 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.

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