The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,438,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370,497 shares during the period. Kroger comprises 0.9% of LSV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. LSV Asset Management owned 1.31% of Kroger worth $431,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $39,619,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Kroger by 378.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,988,000 after purchasing an additional 605,591 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after buying an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,364,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,814,000 after buying an additional 548,240 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $54.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,937,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.61. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last ninety days. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.