The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Lowered by Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,543,000 after acquiring an additional 407,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,210,000 after acquiring an additional 11,541 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $58.02 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.11. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.