The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 228,491 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,259 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for 1.2% of Ledyard National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Kroger were worth $13,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.2% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $56.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.84. The company has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

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.