Natixis Sells 13,796 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Natixis lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,091 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,796 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Kroger were worth $4,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Melius cut Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded down $1.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,846,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,522,306. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.21. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

About Kroger

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.