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

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,524,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Kroger by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.82. 278,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,673,999. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.07. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $42.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

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.