The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 310,151 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,377 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $20,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the company's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,929 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth $71,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 48.4% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 16,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 5,530 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 34,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,647 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE KR opened at $70.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. Kroger's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. 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 yield of 1.99%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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