Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 20.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 53.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 5,853 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 9.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,139 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 20.9% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Kroger by 57.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,820,000 after buying an additional 195,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $847,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.27.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:KR opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.97 and a 1 year high of $60.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.07 and a 200-day moving average of $54.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $43.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.