Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. Has $1.85 Million Stake in Kroger Company (The) (KR)

Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in Kroger Company (The) (NYSE:KR) by 12.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,201 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,585 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A.’s holdings in Kroger Company (The) were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger Company (The) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 234,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,079,000 after buying an additional 54,565 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Kroger Company (The) by 1.3% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 281,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,300,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Kroger Company (The) by 7.6% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 729,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,315,000 after buying an additional 51,711 shares during the last quarter. Honkamp Krueger Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger Company (The) by 4.8% in the first quarter. Honkamp Krueger Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger Company (The) by 6.3% in the first quarter. Atria Investments LLC now owns 14,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 77.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Kroger Company (NYSE:KR) opened at 23.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.76. Kroger Company has a 12-month low of $20.46 and a 12-month high of $36.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.42.

Kroger Company (The) (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 15th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.58. Kroger Company (The) had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 29.10%. The firm had revenue of $36.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kroger Company will post $1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Company (The) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, June 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 11th. This is an increase from Kroger Company (The)’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Kroger Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.92%.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $32.00 price objective on Kroger Company (The) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Zacks Investment Research cut Kroger Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Vetr cut Kroger Company (The) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.46 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Deutsche Bank AG reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Kroger Company (The) in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Kroger Company (The) in a research report on Friday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.09.

In related news, insider J Michael Schlotman bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.73 per share, for a total transaction of $45,460.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan M. Phillips sold 6,200 shares of Kroger Company (The) stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $131,254.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 124,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,627,302.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Company (The) Company Profile

The Kroger Co (Kroger) manufactures and processes food for sale in its supermarkets. The Company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, jewelry stores and convenience stores throughout the United States. As of January 28, 2017, it had operated approximately 4,000 owned or leased supermarkets, convenience stores, fine jewelry stores, distribution warehouses and food production plants through divisions, subsidiaries or affiliates.

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