Brighton Jones LLC Purchases 2,057 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 18.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,170 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Argus raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related 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 sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following 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. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of KR opened at $55.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.66 and its 200-day moving average is $53.87. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 2.31%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

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.