Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 376,575 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,702,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 376,575 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $169,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,472,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,160,883. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.24 and a 200-day moving average of $48.24. The firm has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KR. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

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.