Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Reduces Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,926 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda’s holdings in Kroger were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $627,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter valued at $249,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $56.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a market cap of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.34 and its 200 day moving average is $53.88.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

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.