The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Vectors Research Management LLC

Vectors Research Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 859 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 8.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after buying an additional 407,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Kroger by 0.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.07. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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 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 for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

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.