Integrated Advisors Network LLC Purchases Shares of 3,764 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.91. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 33.51%.

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.