Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,261 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,283 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Kroger by 13.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 8.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,543,000 after purchasing an additional 407,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Kroger by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,610,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,210,000 after purchasing an additional 11,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $55.99 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.87. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

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.