CX Institutional Has $2.67 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

CX Institutional decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,085 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $830,303 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $56.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

About Kroger

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.