Martingale Asset Management L P Lowers Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 522,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,877 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Kroger were worth $29,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 10.6% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 20.5% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 23,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 224.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 487,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,917,000 after buying an additional 337,000 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $457,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 12.8% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $60.50 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $61.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 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%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.55.

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.