The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,413 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,958 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in shares of Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $671,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.21. 4,417,168 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,972,057. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.25. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on KR shares. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following 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 is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.