Farmers Trust Co. Has $431,000 Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Farmers Trust Co. trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,362 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2%

KR opened at $66.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The firm has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

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.