Natixis Sells 13,796 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Natixis lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,091 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,796 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Kroger were worth $4,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,563 shares of the company's stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Kroger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,791,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,569,000 after purchasing an additional 40,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE KR traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.03. 8,847,089 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,531,526. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.31. The company has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.

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.