The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Bokf Na

Bokf Na grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 26.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,970 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,811 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Kroger by 115.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Kroger by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 122,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,755 shares in the last quarter. Forum Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Kroger by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1,270.8% during the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 76,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.96 on Friday, hitting $54.27. 2,552,485 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,410,368. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.07 and its 200 day moving average is $51.97. 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 $39.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.43%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.64.

Kroger 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.