The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,467 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 51.7% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth about $67,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth about $17,900,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 123,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,044,000 after buying an additional 6,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 31.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $61.08 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.97 and a 12 month high of $61.18.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last ninety days. 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.