Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Has $4.16 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,094 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,857 shares during the quarter. Kroger accounts for 0.8% of Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock worth $478,768,000 after acquiring an additional 916,230 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The firm has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.44 and a 200-day moving average of $62.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

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.

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