The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Lowered by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,612 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. IFC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of KR opened at $70.48 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.