The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Lessened by Jump Financial LLC

Jump Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 76.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,112 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,408 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,680,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,574,208. 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 cap of $47.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.56.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm 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, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Melius Research lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently 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.