Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $90.87 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,987,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190,731 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Kroger worth $90,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 430.8% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $55.26 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 $39.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective 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 raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

About Kroger

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.