Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,391 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,928 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,524,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 38,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after buying an additional 15,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:KR opened at $58.06 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.31 and a fifty-two week high of $60.35.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Insider Activity at Kroger

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

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.