Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $7.50 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,200 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Argus increased their target price 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, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.36.

Insider Activity at Kroger

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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,010 shares of company stock valued at $444,056 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $55.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.10 and a 200-day moving average of $53.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.