Bridgewater Associates LP Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 52.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 610,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 666,011 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.08% of Kroger worth $34,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.55.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.07 and its 200 day moving average is $54.29.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.