ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 9,517 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,724 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,517 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 337.4% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 922,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,060,000 after buying an additional 711,600 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Kroger by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,194,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,333,000 after buying an additional 668,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Kroger by 86.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,274,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,840,000 after buying an additional 590,818 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $56.60 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $40.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.