Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 28,807 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Toronto Dominion Bank cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 375,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,807 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $21,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:KR traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.27. 2,552,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,410,368. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.07 and its 200-day moving average is $51.93. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.43%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

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.