Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 64,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,346,000. Kroger makes up 1.1% of Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the first 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. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,010 shares of company stock worth $444,056. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE KR opened at $56.71 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. 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.