Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,827 shares of the company’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This 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 sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $56.28 and a 200 day moving average of $54.10. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 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.