Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC Acquires Shares of 3,500 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $185,913,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after buying an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after acquiring an additional 723,771 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

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 value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,932 shares of company stock valued at $830,303. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $56.02 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.14 and its 200 day moving average is $53.91.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.