The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,205 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,552 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.93. 6,628,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,558,777. The business’s fifty day moving average is $53.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.25%. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

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.