Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 4,291 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,291 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,115,000 after buying an additional 261,368 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN grew 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 acquiring an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $671,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 can be accessed through this link. In related 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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4 %

KR stock opened at $54.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.79. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 report on Friday, September 13th. Argus increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

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.