Financial Counselors Inc. Has $2.50 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 912 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 51.7% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,900,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 123,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,044,000 after buying an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 31.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 22,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $61.08 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $61.18. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $57.42 and its 200-day moving average is $54.41. The stock has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % 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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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 downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research started 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. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.55.

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.