XTX Topco Ltd Invests $1.54 Million in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,536,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Kroger by 5.0% in 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors raised 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.3% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S grew its holdings 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 worth $219,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,029 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given 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

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $54.83 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.60 and a 200-day moving average of $53.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

About Kroger

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.