Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Grows Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 29.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,198 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Kroger were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 82,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,462 shares of company stock worth $19,733,163. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Melius raised Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Kroger Stock Down 1.6%

KR stock opened at $70.18 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.37 and a one year high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

About Kroger

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.