Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 22,547 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,443 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,547 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $22,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KR. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

Kroger stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,100,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,669,298. 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 stock has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.31 and a one year high of $60.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.13.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Kroger's payout ratio is 33.51%.

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.