KBC Group NV Acquires 21,738 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,186 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,738 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $28,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on 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 Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded down $0.73 on Friday, reaching $69.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,716,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,875,624. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 82,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Company 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.