The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,072 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,707 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Kroger by 49.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 38,119 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after buying an additional 17,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,175,000 after buying an additional 115,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322 over the last ninety days. 1.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,470,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,908,465. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.16. The stock has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

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.