Glenmede Trust Co. NA Trims Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Glenmede Trust Co. NA cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,623 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Kroger were worth $19,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Kroger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger 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 directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.55.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $60.50 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $61.18. The company has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.37.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Kroger Company 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.