MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $9.89 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 172,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,779 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1 %

KR stock opened at $60.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.31 and a 200-day moving average of $54.37.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Four research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.55.

Insider Activity

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

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.