Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 224 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 18.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 82.2% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:KR opened at $55.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.