Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,136,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $97,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 103,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE KR opened at $54.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.61. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

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.