AE Wealth Management LLC Has $3.72 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 16.3% in the first quarter, now holding 55,010 shares valued at approximately $3.72 million.
• Kroger reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.49 for the recent quarter, which surpasses analysts' expectations of $1.45, despite its revenue declining by 0.3% year-over-year.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.35 on September 1st, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.32, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.96%.

AE Wealth Management LLC cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,010 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,738 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock worth $20,834,000 after buying an additional 24,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 67.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded down $0.92 on Friday, hitting $71.47. 3,396,261 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,760,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.31 and its 200 day moving average is $67.05. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.11. The company has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.