Swedbank AB Purchases 195,557 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 537,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 195,557 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Kroger were worth $30,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $56.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.88. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.