Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 8,693 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,693 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Kroger by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 47,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.3 %

Kroger stock opened at $50.56 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $36.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 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.