Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $6.09 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 121,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,471 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,546,000 after buying an additional 503,839 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after buying an additional 11,541 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $53.21 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Argus upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

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.