Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 25,796 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted 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 worth $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $229,863,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after acquiring an additional 11,541 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $54.62 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $39.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.