Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 8,139 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,207 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,139 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Kroger Stock Up 0.8 %

Kroger stock opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. 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 P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.29. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.70.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.