Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,165,922 shares of the company's stock after selling 147,330 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.16% of Kroger worth $71,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,056,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $361,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 210.5% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 11,008 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 21.0% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 41,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 7,196 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Kroger by 17.9% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 50,119 shares of the company's stock worth $2,872,000 after buying an additional 7,609 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger
In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Kroger Trading Up 1.5 %
Shares of Kroger stock traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,946,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,339,200. 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 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $71.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.38.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently commented on KR. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised 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. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on KR
Kroger Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Kroger, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Kroger wasn't on the list.
While Kroger currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
