Ossiam Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ossiam lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,791 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,427 shares during the quarter. Ossiam's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.96. 14,002,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,486,571. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $66.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 304,923 shares of company stock valued at $20,705,024. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

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.