The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Lessened by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,371 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,935 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kroger by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,739,000 after purchasing an additional 118,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE KR traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $50.43. 6,703,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,297,594. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.15%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.