Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 778 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 778 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,014,168,000 after purchasing an additional 498,995 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after buying an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Kroger by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,739,000 after buying an additional 118,209 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.99. The stock had a trading volume of 6,276,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,995,606. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.68. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.