KCM Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 773 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,270 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after buying an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after buying an additional 407,690 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after buying an additional 11,541 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $60.35. The company has a market cap of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Company 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.