Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $23.65 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 386,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,168 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.06.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $72.87. The company had a trading volume of 5,339,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,610,697. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.95. 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 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 data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.