30,764 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,536,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Kroger by 18.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in shares of Kroger by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $671,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $54.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

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.