Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 35.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,151 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 370.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $49.93 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.25%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

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.