The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $888,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $183,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 684,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,274,000 after purchasing an additional 283,690 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 460.2% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 64,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after buying an additional 52,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Argus increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $51.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.53. The stock has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Profile

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.