Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,955,522 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,925 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.82% of Kroger worth $364,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 3rd 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. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 11,008 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 21.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 50,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 7,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in Kroger by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 23,362 shares of the company's stock worth $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. This trade represents a 19.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
Kroger Stock Down 1.1 %
Shares of KR traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $68.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,894,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,354,898. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on KR
Kroger 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.
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