Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 1,686,919 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 41.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,364,851 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,686,919 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.33% of Kroger worth $144,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

KR stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.26. 8,827,083 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,352,113. The stock's fifty day moving average is $65.68 and its 200-day moving average is $61.38. The company has a market cap of $45.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G 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. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93.

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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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.