Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,702,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 376,575 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.51% of Kroger worth $169,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 65,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,948,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.49. 3,472,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,160,883. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.24. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,180 shares of company stock worth $2,750,322. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.