Brookstone Capital Management Reduces Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Brookstone Capital Management lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after acquiring an additional 407,690 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,210,000 after acquiring an additional 11,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3 %

KR stock opened at $55.36 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.91.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.