Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Kroger by 22.6%, resulting in ownership of approximately 2.64 million shares valued at $178.99 million.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%.
• Analysts have generally rated Kroger with a consensus of "Hold", with price targets ranging from $70.00 to $82.00.

Deutsche Bank AG decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,644,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 773,391 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.40% of Kroger worth $178,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,829,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 7,363.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company's stock worth $115,506,000 after buying an additional 1,683,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,045.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,600 shares of the company's stock worth $95,553,000 after buying an additional 1,426,131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.53.

Kroger Stock Down 4.0%

NYSE KR traded down $2.97 on Wednesday, hitting $70.58. The stock had a trading volume of 9,959,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,090,971. The business's fifty day moving average price is $70.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.13. 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 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $46.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were 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 $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.