IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,756 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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

NYSE KR opened at $57.37 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.75 and a 200-day moving average of $53.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.