Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 79.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 191,736 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,863,000. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,619,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Kroger by 378.8% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,988,000 after purchasing an additional 605,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $50.43 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.15%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.