AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 1,243,547 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 98.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,703 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,243,547 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11.7% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 134,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,736,000 after buying an additional 14,163 shares during the last quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ raised its position in Kroger by 46.1% in the second quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 11,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,537 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,448,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,304,000 after acquiring an additional 161,400 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 6,751 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE KR traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.14. 946,678 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,956,597. The firm has a market cap of $38.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.10.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger 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.