The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 664 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Kroger were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Kroger by 4.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,707 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $671,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.93. The stock had a trading volume of 6,628,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,558,777. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.93. The company has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

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.