Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Purchases 904 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Kroger were worth $535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $460,000. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $344,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $57.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.84 and a 200-day moving average of $53.89. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

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.