Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $19.02 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 380,991 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,447 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $19,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $54.62 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Argus upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.09.

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.