Delap Wealth Advisory LLC Sells 11,500 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Delap Wealth Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 68.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,500 shares during the period. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. W Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the first quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.09.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $55.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Kroger Company 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.