iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,183 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,183 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 210.5% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 11,008 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 196,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,828,000 after buying an additional 34,550 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 809,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,379,000 after purchasing an additional 131,800 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $59.23 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $43.51 and a twelve month high of $61.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.