Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Sells 2,429 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,429 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Kroger were worth $807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,619,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 378.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,988,000 after acquiring an additional 605,591 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kroger by 4,810.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after acquiring an additional 556,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Kroger by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,364,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,814,000 after purchasing an additional 548,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered 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, April 16th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $56.17. 1,092,161 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,915,047. The company has a market cap of $40.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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.