iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 7,347 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,738 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,347 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 115.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Kroger by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 122,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,599,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1,270.8% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 76,248 shares during the period. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 80,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,764,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,079,916. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 0.85 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.44%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

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.