The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Holdings Trimmed by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,792 shares of the company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $156,126,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552,989 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $71,410,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,220,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 3,826,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,890,000 after purchasing an additional 933,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of KR traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.61. 361,363 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,931,970. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $40.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Kroger 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.