The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Sound Shore Management Inc. CT

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,197,118 shares of the company's stock after selling 123,291 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 2.8% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned about 0.18% of Kroger worth $81,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Down 1.3%

KR stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.47. The stock had a trading volume of 3,396,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,760,720. The firm has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 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 Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The company's 50-day moving average price is $69.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.99.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 38.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (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 target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.16.

About Kroger

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.