Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Has $3.50 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. by 50.5%, owning 51,739 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Kroger recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.02% and a payout ratio of 34.88%.
• Wall Street analysts have generally rated Kroger positively, with an average target price of $70.16 and several analysts upgrading their ratings, indicating confidence in the company's future performance.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 50.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,739 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,799 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 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. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.16.

Kroger Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE KR traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $69.29. The company had a trading volume of 5,296,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,101,950. The stock's 50 day moving average is $69.31 and its 200-day moving average is $67.19. The stock has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.11.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. 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.