Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Has $3.93 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 1.3% of Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $3,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4 %

KR opened at $64.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $48.21 and a twelve month high of $66.26.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

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.