Bank of Nova Scotia Has $5.63 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 51.3%, selling 87,467 shares and retaining ownership of 83,172 shares valued at $5,630,000.
• Insider selling activity included EVP Gabriel Arreaga offloading 37,960 shares for approximately $2.75 million, resulting in a 33.54% decrease in his ownership.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, with the payout representing a 2.0% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 34.88%.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 51.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,172 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,467 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $801,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 298,774 shares of the company's stock worth $18,133,000 after purchasing an additional 11,741 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $73.74. 4,727,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,133,667. The company has a market cap of $48.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.75. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-year high of $74.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. Kroger's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.