The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Kathmere Capital Management LLC

Kathmere Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 26.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,171 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th 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 position in Kroger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after acquiring an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kroger by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after acquiring an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,739,000 after purchasing an additional 118,209 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Down 1.4 %

KR traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.33. 4,284,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,950,304. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.27. 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 Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.59%.

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.