AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,852,579 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 265,815 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $87,683,000 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,040,589 shares of the company's stock worth $4,649,299,000 after buying an additional 2,062,188 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,777,178 shares of the company's stock worth $2,167,277,000 after acquiring an additional 590,838 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,022,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $976,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,600 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 16,746,010 shares of the company's stock worth $792,589,000 after purchasing an additional 318,500 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 9.5% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,522,183 shares of the company's stock worth $545,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,044 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Get Kroger alerts:Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
KR has been the topic of several research reports. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.39.
Insider Activity at Kroger
In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,779 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $275,773.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $253,870.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.Kroger Stock Performance
Shares of KR stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.43. 71,172 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,561,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.49. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $41.81 and a 12 month high of $62.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.66.
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 1st. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. Kroger had a net margin of 1.61% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 15th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.50%.
Kroger Profile
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The Kroger Co operates as a 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.
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