AlphaMark Advisors LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $52.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,105,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,025,800. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.68. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

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.