Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. Reduces Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,034 shares during the quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth about $291,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 35.5% during 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. lifted its stake in Kroger by 8.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,115,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $67,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

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.