The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 170,102 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,929 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth $291,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 35.5% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 8.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth $1,115,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth $67,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.97 and a 1-year high of $60.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

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.