Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 300 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $888,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Kroger by 86.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,274,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,840,000 after purchasing an additional 590,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Kroger by 33.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,195,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,496,000 after purchasing an additional 548,044 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, reaching $52.04. The company had a trading volume of 5,303,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,008,865. The stock has a market cap of $37.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G 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 fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.48 and its 200 day moving average is $52.90.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.