The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 69.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,432 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,278 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Kroger were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $68.18. The stock had a trading volume of 3,771,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,696,310. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.56. The company has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend 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.