Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,430 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,605 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Kroger by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 185,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,575,000 after purchasing an additional 22,946 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Kroger by 86.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,274,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,840,000 after buying an additional 590,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $56.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.91. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.