Spire Wealth Management Has $2.64 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2,482.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,103 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,434 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $61.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.11. The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $44.48 and a 12 month high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.