LPL Financial LLC Purchases 57,619 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 11.4% in the first quarter, owning about 563,524 shares valued at approximately $38.1 million.
• Kroger's recent quarterly earnings showed a net margin of 1.89% and EPS of $1.49, surpassing estimates by $0.04, although revenue was slightly down year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.35 per share, up from $0.32, reflecting a yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 34.88%.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 563,524 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,619 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.09% of Kroger worth $38,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.56. 5,493,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,199,993. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $69.42 and its 200 day moving average is $67.48. The firm has a market cap of $47.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $50.69 and a 1 year high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.