MRP Capital Investments LLC Trims Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

MRP Capital Investments LLC cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 24.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,850 shares during the quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 337.4% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 922,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,060,000 after buying an additional 711,600 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Kroger news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock 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, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $54.62 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.79. The company has a market cap of $39.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

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.