Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 755 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,976 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 88,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter worth $448,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 52.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 128,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,717,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 6.8% in the first quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 27,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,855,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.5%

Kroger stock opened at $72.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.88 and a 200-day moving average of $66.53.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. Kroger’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 243,815 shares of company stock worth $17,652,983 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Melius upgraded 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.00.

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.