The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Increased by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,142 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.19.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $64.41 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.96 and a fifty-two week high of $66.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.08. 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 has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.