Gabriel Arreaga Sells 13,867 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 13,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.82, for a total transaction of $995,927.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,402,156.76. The trade was a 15.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Gabriel Arreaga also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 19th, Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of Kroger stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $1,047,389.17.

Kroger Trading Down 2.0 %

KR stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.94. 1,679,171 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,912,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.68 and a 200-day moving average of $62.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 420,186 shares of the company's stock worth $28,442,000 after purchasing an additional 21,738 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 32,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 137.8% during the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 14,292 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,277 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

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.