Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC Has $1.53 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 54.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,563 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,805 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after purchasing an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after purchasing an additional 120,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock worth $478,768,000 after purchasing an additional 916,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $70.74 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.19. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid 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 yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Melius Research raised Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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