95,014 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 95,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,431,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,060,000 after purchasing an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,768,000 after purchasing an additional 916,230 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,156,000 after buying an additional 865,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of KR stock opened at $69.32 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.31 and a 200-day moving average of $67.18. The company has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 118,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,314. This trade represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

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.