Maj Invest Holding A S Trims Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Maj Invest Holding A S cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,128,230 shares of the company's stock after selling 113,574 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for 5.2% of Maj Invest Holding A S's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Maj Invest Holding A S owned about 0.32% of Kroger worth $144,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 13.9% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,720 shares of the company's stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Kroger by 8.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 21,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Kroger by 28.1% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 126,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,590,000 after buying an additional 27,869 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.74. 6,948,725 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,887,748. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $69.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.07. The stock has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

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.