The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,921 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $56.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.91. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 $4,142,036.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

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.