Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,813 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 66.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,558 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 87,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 27,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,186,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $59.58 on Thursday. 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 cap of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.03. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. 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 business earned $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.