Royal Bank of Canada Sells 198,282 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,127,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 198,282 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Kroger were worth $130,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 64,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,947,000 after purchasing an additional 5,617 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $409,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 122,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,518 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 226,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,871,000 after purchasing an additional 58,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $601,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 1.8%

KR opened at $68.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.89.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 1.86%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06.

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.