The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,072 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Kroger worth $18,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. M3 Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $203,000. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,053,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,583,000 after acquiring an additional 7,799 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 15,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $3,698,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.04. 5,303,134 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,008,865. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.86. The firm has a market cap of $37.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.