The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 341,810 shares of the company's stock after selling 148,833 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $20,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $598,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $68,581,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,675,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,314,166. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $71.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $65.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.