Mackenzie Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 942,018 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 147,864 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.14% of Kroger worth $63,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Kroger by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 403,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,697,000 after buying an additional 60,804 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 43,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after buying an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 121,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,403,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $69.32 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.