Intrust Bank NA Trims Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Intrust Bank NA trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,867 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake in Kroger by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 9,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $714,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 14,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.42. 218,471 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,836,347. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $40.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.37. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

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.