Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $992,000 Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,221 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,401 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Kroger by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 212,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 145,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 537,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,820,000 after buying an additional 195,557 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.70. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $45.17 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.