AlphaMark Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,150 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KR. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.36.

Kroger Stock Down 0.2 %

Kroger stock opened at $56.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.90. The company has a market cap of $40.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.