The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,759,441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 882,203 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.19% of Kroger worth $4,613,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.5 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,775,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,732,533. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.13 and its 200-day moving average is $51.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.39%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

Kroger Company Profile

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.