Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $13.81 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 236.3%, purchasing an additional 143,361 shares in the first quarter, totaling $13.81 million in holdings.
• Brokerages have recently upgraded their ratings on Kroger, with Melius Research moving from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, while Guggenheim increased their price target to $78.00 and maintained a "buy" rating.
• Kroger has declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.32 to $0.35, representing a yield of 2.0%, with the next payout scheduled for September 1st.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 236.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,023 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 143,361 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $13,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $69.85. The stock had a trading volume of 7,392,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,109,268. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.37. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

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.