Verity Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,578 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Verity Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,578 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 115.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Kroger by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 80,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 17,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 1.4 %

KR traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.33. The stock had a trading volume of 4,284,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,950,304. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.23. The company has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Argus boosted their price objective 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. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

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.