714 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised 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 worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 166,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,212,000 after buying an additional 4,251 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 179,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,970,000 after buying an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 120,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,345,000 after buying an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.03 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $46.96 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The stock has a market cap of $47.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.12.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.