The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,575 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Kroger by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Kroger by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KR. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Kroger Stock Up 1.3 %

KR opened at $50.56 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.97. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $36.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.28 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

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.