Choreo LLC Has $1.28 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 388.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,304 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,124 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $229,863,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,210,000 after acquiring an additional 11,541 shares during the period. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S grew its stake in Kroger by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $51.50 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.55.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on KR. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

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.