Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC Has $75,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 288 shares during the quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of KR opened at $70.03 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, 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 current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.31.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.