First Trust Advisors LP Sells 68,852 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,289,094 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,852 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.18% of Kroger worth $78,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.03. 8,847,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,539,797. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $66.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

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.