Bridgewater Associates LP Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 52.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 610,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 666,011 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Kroger were worth $34,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 906,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,769,000 after purchasing an additional 20,200 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 51.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the period. LBP AM SA lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 293.6% during the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 38,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 28,504 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 93.5% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 5,014 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Kroger by 198.6% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 8,937 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.29. The company has a market cap of $43.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.55.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 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.