SVB Wealth LLC Sells 5,453 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

SVB Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 261,368 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,882,000 after purchasing an additional 129,873 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Kroger by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 59,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $671,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

Kroger Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:KR traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,632,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,965,830. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.13 and a 200-day moving average of $53.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

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.