Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 36,083 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $124,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.2% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 43,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 159,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $59.58 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $60.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.03. The company has a market cap of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.