B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 31,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,783,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $291,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 35.5% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Kroger by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,943,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,035,000 after acquiring an additional 490,397 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at $1,115,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $58.58 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.82 and a 200-day moving average of $54.21. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.97 and a 52-week high of $60.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped 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. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.