The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,790 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Kroger were worth $22,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 51.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 123,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,044,000 after buying an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Kroger by 179.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 10,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 14.4% in the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 6,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $61.08 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.41. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $61.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on KR shares. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.55.

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.