Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 74,802 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 276,977 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,802 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Kroger were worth $18,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Kroger by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 403,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,697,000 after buying an additional 60,804 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 43,778 shares of the company's stock worth $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 121,065 shares of the company's stock worth $7,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the 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 owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.16.

Kroger Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE KR traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $69.29. 5,296,880 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,101,950. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.31 and a 200 day moving average of $67.19. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.11. The company has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.02%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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.