Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 2,334 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,334 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.80.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $55.39 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.66 and a 200-day moving average of $53.89.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. 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.