Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC Sells 9,863 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,259 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,863 shares during the quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $2,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.3 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.99. 6,205,618 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,599,470. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.