Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 9,130 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 245,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,130 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 0.9% of Foster & Motley Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $14,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Kroger by 698.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after buying an additional 1,643,307 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 35.1% during the second quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 4,395,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,456,000 after buying an additional 1,141,029 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after buying an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after acquiring an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $57.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.90. The firm has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

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.