Pathstone Holdings LLC Reduces Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Pathstone Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,011 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 63.0% during the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 15,048 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 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 owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.97 and a fifty-two week high of $60.35. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $56.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.23.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.