Zevin Asset Management LLC Sells 1,892 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Zevin Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,152 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,892 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises 1.6% of Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 29.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 302,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,279,000 after acquiring an additional 68,516 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Kroger by 303.1% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 19,065 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital grew its holdings in Kroger by 6.3% in the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 94,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,409,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 13.1% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Kroger by 12.5% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,384,000 after purchasing an additional 58,580 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Argus raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $58.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $60.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction 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 $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.