CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 117,091 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,797 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after buying an additional 407,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after buying an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.02 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.11. The stock has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.