Timothy A. Massa Sells 8,415 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $71.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $74.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.57. The firm has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.