SVB Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SVB Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 184,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $1.10 on Friday, hitting $52.27. The company had a trading volume of 6,632,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,965,830. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is a boost 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 presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.