Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Cuts Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,836 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $7,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter worth $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter worth $6,524,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Kroger by 82.2% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.27.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.97 and a fifty-two week high of $60.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.29.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.