Martingale Asset Management L P Lowers Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KRFree Report) by 9.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 522,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,877 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.07% of Kroger worth $29,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Kroger by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 23,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Kroger by 224.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 487,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,917,000 after acquiring an additional 337,000 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $457,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in Kroger by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

Kroger stock opened at $60.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.97 and a 1-year high of $61.18. The company has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KRGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.55.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on KR

Kroger Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Kroger (NYSE:KR)

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