The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. sold 172,025 shares of The Kroger Co., decreasing its holdings by 5.3% and now owning approximately 3,067,651 shares worth $207,606,000.
• Kroger has received positive updates from several analysts, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a price target of $83.00 and JPMorgan increasing its target from $72.00 to $82.00, reflecting a generally favorable outlook.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, signaling confidence in its financial stability amidst a reported 1.89% net margin and $1.49 EPS for the last quarter.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,067,651 shares of the company's stock after selling 172,025 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.46% of Kroger worth $207,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,207,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,829,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.09 on Thursday, hitting $69.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,315,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,124,942. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.90. The company has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.27 and a 200-day moving average of $68.15.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS 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 given a $0.35 dividend. 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.53.

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.