Tidal Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tidal Investments LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,727 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,449 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock worth $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,132,000. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $2,130,000. Flavin Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $360,000. Finally, Advocate Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,004,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $1.03 on Tuesday, reaching $67.56. 1,486,273 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,650,076. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.34. The firm has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. 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.