The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,467 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after acquiring an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after acquiring an additional 407,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:KR opened at $61.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.41. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $61.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Four equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.55.

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.