3,335 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC

CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kroger by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.03. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $46.96 and a 52 week high of $66.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

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.