Choreo LLC Purchases 20,124 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Choreo LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 388.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,304 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,124 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Kroger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after purchasing an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on KR shares. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. 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 report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of KR opened at $51.50 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

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.