iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 14,227 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 34.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,965 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,227 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $53.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.78 and its 200 day moving average is $53.20. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

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.