The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Rogco LP

Rogco LP trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 102,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Kroger makes up approximately 2.3% of Rogco LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Rogco LP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,166,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,776,620. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

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.