The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC

Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,958 shares of the company’s stock after selling 564 shares during the quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 1.3 %

Kroger stock opened at $58.02 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $60.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.11. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

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.