Legal & General Group Plc Has $359.77 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,883,419 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,312,688 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.81% of Kroger worth $359,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.26. 8,827,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,352,113. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $71.93. The stock has a market cap of $45.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.68 and a 200 day moving average of $61.38.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.