Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,777 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,177 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company's stock worth $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company's stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. Maj Invest Holding A S increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,029 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company's stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.11. The stock had a trading volume of 6,200,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,682,423. The firm has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.13. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.31 and a 12-month high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.09.

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.