MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,828 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Melius downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% 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, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $68.79 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.55 and a 200-day moving average of $63.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.