Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,127,724 shares of the company's stock after selling 198,282 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.29% of Kroger worth $130,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,923,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,672,096. The firm's 50-day moving average is $68.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The company has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Company insiders own 1.40% 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.