Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 5,168 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 386,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,168 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.06.

Kroger Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $72.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.31 and its 200 day moving average is $62.75. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,370.19. This trade represents a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last ninety 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.