Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.24 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 48.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,887 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,121 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger 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 directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,162,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,941,324. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.35. The company has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

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.