The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 565,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,450 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $28,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after buying an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after acquiring an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after acquiring an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after purchasing an additional 11,541 shares during the period. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S boosted its stake 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 valued at $219,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,029 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:KR opened at $54.83 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.79.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.