Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 31,019 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 907,070 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,019 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Kroger worth $61,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.35 on Wednesday, reaching $70.09. 3,943,599 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,880,853. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.10. The firm has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.