The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,174 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,585 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Kroger worth $20,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $671,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 1.0 %

KR stock opened at $56.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.98 and a 200-day moving average of $53.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.36.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently 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.