Raiffeisen Bank International AG Reduces Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 82.9%, selling 5,534 shares during the first quarter and now owns 1,139 shares valued at $76,000.
• Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of Kroger stock in the last quarter, with the Executive Vice President and a Director both reporting significant decreases in their ownership.
• Kroger announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.0%.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 82.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,139 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,534 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Kroger were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $123,829,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 7,363.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,535 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim lifted 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. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $73.74. The stock had a trading volume of 4,727,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,133,667. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.