The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) VP Sells $72,030.00 in Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:KR traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.03. 8,847,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,539,797. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,768,000 after purchasing an additional 916,230 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Melius cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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.