Merit Financial Group LLC Has $453,000 Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,220,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,619,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 378.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,988,000 after acquiring an additional 605,591 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,364,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,814,000 after purchasing an additional 548,240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kroger Stock Up 0.1 %

KR stock opened at $55.31 on Wednesday. The stock 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 twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. Kroger’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger 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.