Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Makes New $250,000 Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 698.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after buying an additional 1,643,307 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3 %

KR opened at $55.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $830,303. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

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.