Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 1,678 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after buying an additional 11,707 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,143,000 after acquiring an additional 17,380 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Kroger by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,175,000 after acquiring an additional 115,264 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Kroger by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 102,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,671,000 after acquiring an additional 37,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $55.31. 4,892,631 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,848,466. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.