The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,632 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $60.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $43.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.97 and a 1 year high of $61.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.33.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.55.

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.