Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Sells 583 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 583 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Kroger by 337.4% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 922,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,060,000 after purchasing an additional 711,600 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Kroger by 127.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,194,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,333,000 after purchasing an additional 668,440 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $54.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.79. The stock has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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 investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Kroger Company 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.