Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Has $11.41 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,527 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,425 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $11,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:KR opened at $65.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.49 and a 52-week high of $65.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.36. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. 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 company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.