Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,116 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,296 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Kroger were worth $8,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,323,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 29.1% during the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 260,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,004,000 after acquiring an additional 55,868 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $408,000. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 940,606 shares of the company's stock worth $46,964,000 after purchasing an additional 43,967 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.49 on Tuesday, hitting $53.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,733,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,963,687. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Argus lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.