11,008 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 11,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $616,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Kroger by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 59,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,413 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $671,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,069,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,574,000 after acquiring an additional 390,177 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

KR opened at $56.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.14 and its 200-day moving average is $53.91. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $830,303 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.36.

About Kroger

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.