Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Sells 1,098 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,098 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,524,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Kroger by 18.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $57.37 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.89. 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 company has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

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.