USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 38,784 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,741 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,784 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Kroger were worth $8,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,986 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Kroger by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.06.

Kroger Stock Down 1.6%

Kroger stock traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,092,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,653,586. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $68.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.