The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 55.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,615 shares of the company's stock after selling 433,376 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $16,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Kroger by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 306,281 shares of the company's stock worth $14,000,000 after purchasing an additional 27,711 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 104,336 shares of the company's stock worth $4,769,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,797 shares of the company's stock worth $48,672,000 after purchasing an additional 235,598 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.78. The company had a trading volume of 4,937,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,941. The firm has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.61. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Insiders own 1.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.17.

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.