Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,399 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the 4th 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. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the third 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 during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kroger by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,175,000 after acquiring an additional 115,264 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position 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 during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $55.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $40.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.37. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.