The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 21.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 565,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,450 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Kroger worth $28,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $671,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $54.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently 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.