The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,202 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,494 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up 1.0% of 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Kroger by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 34,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 9,788 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1,401.7% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 22,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Kroger by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Kroger by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $57.42 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (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 firm 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. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.