Tradition Wealth Management LLC Has $217,000 Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Tradition Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $72.44 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.13. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.