3,859 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by Aviso Wealth Management

Aviso Wealth Management bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 1.1% during the second quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $58.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $60.35.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.