Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 50.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 407,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 420,648 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $27,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 128,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,833,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,259,000 after buying an additional 32,256 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Melius upgraded Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.53.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $69.67 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.32. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.