Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 1,396 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Townsquare Capital LLC lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,396 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.8% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,252,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Kroger by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 35,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,313,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,225,000 after acquiring an additional 34,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 53.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $59.97 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $61.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.58 and its 200-day moving average is $54.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.64.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.