Founders Financial Securities LLC Invests $460,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $229,863,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $39,619,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Kroger by 378.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,988,000 after acquiring an additional 605,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $49.93 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.97. The firm has a market cap of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.25%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

Kroger Company 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.