Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 1,303 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,202 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $54.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.79. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

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.