Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Purchases Shares of 5,273 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after buying an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,707 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 49.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,165,000 after purchasing an additional 38,119 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after buying an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Kroger by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,175,000 after buying an additional 115,264 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.49. 3,472,039 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.29. 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 market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,180 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,322. Company insiders own 1.38% 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.