Swiss National Bank Has $97.68 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,136,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.30% of Kroger worth $97,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,168,000 after purchasing an additional 498,995 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Kroger by 7.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after acquiring an additional 511,978 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,023,000 after acquiring an additional 78,710 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Kroger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,005,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,242,000 after purchasing an additional 10,556 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,246,000 after purchasing an additional 50,177 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.6 %

Kroger stock opened at $54.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.61.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 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.