PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 1,680 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.7% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $53.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.79 and a 200 day moving average of $49.56. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $38.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

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.