The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 321,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,100 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $14,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 12.2% in the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 17,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.9% in the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.4% in the first quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.7% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.08.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $39.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.