Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Trims Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 61.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 850,243 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $32,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

Kroger Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:KR opened at $69.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.02. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 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 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 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.