Bank of Montreal Can Has $74.23 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,313,252 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,070 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.18% of Kroger worth $74,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company's stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Kroger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.66. 405,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,642,726. The stock has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.07 and its 200 day moving average is $54.29. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.97 and a 12 month high of $61.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.55.

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.