Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Takes $1.04 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 22,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company's stock worth $1,014,168,000 after purchasing an additional 498,995 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,551,000 after buying an additional 511,978 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,739,000 after acquiring an additional 118,209 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Kroger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,005,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,242,000 after purchasing an additional 10,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,246,000 after purchasing an additional 50,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:KR traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $55.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,790,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,843,510. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.83. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $39.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger's payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KR. BNP Paribas reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.17.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is currently 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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