BCGM Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

BCGM Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,260 shares during the quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,543,000 after buying an additional 407,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $230,210,000 after buying an additional 11,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.3 %

KR stock opened at $58.02 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.39 and its 200 day moving average is $54.11. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.