Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 51,795 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,340 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,795 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.92. 5,124,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,913,946. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. The business's fifty day moving average is $55.84 and its 200-day moving average is $49.53. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors 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 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock 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 research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.