abrdn plc Boosts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 859,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,072 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.12% of Kroger worth $49,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 698.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. Maj Invest Holding A S lifted its stake in Kroger by 35.1% in the second 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger 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 value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $55.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.89. The firm has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Kroger 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.