The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,645 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 63.0% in the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after buying an additional 15,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $57.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.17. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.54 and a one year high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

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.