Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC Purchases Shares of 3,500 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $56.02 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.91. 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 company has a market cap of $40.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued 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 return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.