Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 64.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,675 shares of the company's stock after selling 741,255 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $28,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded down $0.48 on Thursday, reaching $72.40. 4,552,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,834,607. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The company's 50-day moving average price is $69.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.