Intech Investment Management LLC Has $27.68 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,486 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $27,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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 report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR opened at $57.61 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.54 and a 52 week high of $60.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.75 and a 200-day moving average of $54.17.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.