Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,210,000 after purchasing an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S increased its stake in Kroger by 35.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $55.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.