Westover Capital Advisors LLC Invests $311,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Key Points

• Westover Capital Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Kroger Co., purchasing 4,592 shares valued at approximately $311,000.
• Kroger recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.35, representing a yield of 1.96%, which is an increase from the previous $0.32.
• Analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating for Kroger, with target prices ranging from $70.00 to $78.00, reflecting positive sentiment in the stock's performance.

Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 505,905 shares of the company's stock worth $30,936,000 after buying an additional 7,935 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,066,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,569,000 after acquiring an additional 85,997 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in Kroger by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 57,593 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.16.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,403,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,071,748. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 2.21 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. 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.