Symmetry Partners LLC Sells 4,803 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Symmetry Partners LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,803 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth $28,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 78.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $45.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.78. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.81 and a fifty-two week high of $50.41. The company has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 8th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $33.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.12 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.61% and a net margin of 1.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. 3M reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $75.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, June 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.46, for a total transaction of $1,045,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 194,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,862,699.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.38% 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.