81,464 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Spring Capital Management LLC

Spring Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 81,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,668,000. Kroger makes up about 3.4% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after acquiring an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after purchasing an additional 407,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,210,000 after buying an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE KR traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.40. The stock had a trading volume of 108,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,775,045. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.83. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

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.