Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 71,244 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 54.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,175 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,244 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Kroger were worth $12,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $66.36. 8,982,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,689,851. 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 market capitalization of $43.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.60. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.