Forsta AP Fonden Has $8.09 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,200 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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 Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE KR opened at $57.37 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.84 and a 200-day moving average of $53.86. The company has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

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.