The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Position Cut by TRUE Private Wealth Advisors

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,245 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,781 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,524,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in Kroger by 82.2% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $61.08 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $61.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.42 and a 200-day moving average of $54.41.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.55.

About Kroger

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.