The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 492.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,920 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 320,816 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.05% of Kroger worth $22,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $58.11. The company had a trading volume of 166,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,658,301. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $60.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.17.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. Kroger's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.09.

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.