Todd Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Todd Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 43.9%, owning approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $39.62 million after purchasing an additional 178,520 shares.
• Kroger's quarterly dividend was increased to $0.35 per share, marking a rise from the previous $0.32 dividend, with an ex-dividend date of August 15th.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.49, surpassing expectations, while total revenue for the quarter was $45.12 billion, down 0.3% from the previous year.

Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 43.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 585,335 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 178,520 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Kroger worth $39,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Kroger by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock worth $20,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24,849 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. 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 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.53.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.24. The company had a trading volume of 5,315,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,124,898. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.27 and a 200-day moving average of $68.15. The company has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The company 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 business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 currently 38.15%.

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.