Fmr LLC Sells 161,065 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fmr LLC cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,073,565 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161,065 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $290,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Kroger by 698.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. Maj Invest Holding A S grew its holdings in Kroger by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,029 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE KR opened at $61.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $61.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.41.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

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.