Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Kroger Stock Down 1.6 %

Kroger stock opened at $64.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.08. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $46.96 and a one year high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger Company 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.