Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,632 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 906,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,769,000 after purchasing an additional 20,200 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 51.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Kroger by 93.5% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 5,014 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Kroger by 198.6% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 8,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $60.52 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.33. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.97 and a 52 week high of $61.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $43.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.