Sciencast Management LP Takes $1.45 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,446,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company's stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company's stock worth $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $671,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company's stock worth $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Kroger by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company's stock worth $75,175,000 after purchasing an additional 115,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.30.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.49. 3,586,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,262,875. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.36. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.75%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

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.

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