Voya Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,366 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 220.9% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 179,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,239,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $566,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,391,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $70.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.88 and a 200 day moving average of $62.50. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 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.