The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 847,993 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,635 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of Kroger worth $48,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.1 %

KR stock opened at $60.50 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.97 and a 52 week high of $61.18. The company has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.37.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.55.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

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.