The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 84.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,441 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Kroger were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock worth $478,768,000 after buying an additional 916,230 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.06.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $68.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,648,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,711,235. The stock has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

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.