The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Boosted by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,834 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 245.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 17.8% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 53.9% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 1.5 %

KR stock opened at $65.12 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. The company has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 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 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,186 shares of company stock worth $10,752,001 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

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.