DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 91.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,047 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259,936 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $72.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.31 and its 200 day moving average is $63.45. The stock has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 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, 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders 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 1.78%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KR. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.