AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $36.84 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 544,192 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115,632 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $36,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $68.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.63. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63. The stock has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.