Johnson Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $70.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.35. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last ninety days. Company 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.