Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,391 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,928 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Kroger by 303.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 19,065 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,384,000 after purchasing an additional 58,580 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its position in shares of Kroger by 129.1% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 78,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,472,000 after purchasing an additional 44,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam increased its position in shares of Kroger by 163.2% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 172,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,877,000 after purchasing an additional 107,210 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.11. The company had a trading volume of 6,200,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,682,423. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.31 and a 52 week high of $60.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given 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 2.20%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.