Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Sells 19,820 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 906,146 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,820 shares during the period. Kroger comprises about 2.2% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Kroger worth $41,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 17,802 shares of the company's stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company's stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 1.7 %

KR traded down $0.95 on Friday, hitting $55.20. 3,749,112 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,988,301. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.24 and its 200-day moving average is $47.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.08.

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.