Ascent Group LLC Has $2.23 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 270.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,547 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 18.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $671,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.20. 3,178,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,140,519. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.07 and a 200 day moving average of $52.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.45%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

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.