Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 693,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,789 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Kroger worth $31,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,707 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kroger by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,175,000 after buying an additional 115,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Kroger by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 102,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,671,000 after buying an additional 37,892 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.99. The stock had a trading volume of 6,276,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,995,606. The company has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.68. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger Company 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.