Alps Advisors Inc. Acquires 5,530 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 48.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,954 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,530 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,794 shares of the company's stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 10,066 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 271,276 shares of company stock worth $19,540,350 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.83. 5,816,837 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,915,387. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.38. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.11. The company has a market cap of $47.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

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.