National Bank of Canada FI Grows Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 467,117 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,999 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $21,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 208,014 shares of the company's stock worth $9,309,000 after acquiring an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 159,854 shares of the company's stock worth $7,077,000 after buying an additional 38,375 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 146,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 166,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 30,373 shares of the company's stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the 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 $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

KR stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.31. 4,892,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,848,466. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.26 and a 200-day moving average of $48.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Company 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.