The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 88,320 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,524,000. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 63.0% in the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after buying an additional 15,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $60.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $43.51 and a 52-week high of $61.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.65.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Kroger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.33.

Kroger Company 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.