Prospera Private Wealth LLC Takes $3.83 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 66,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,826,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.40. The stock had a trading volume of 883,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,671,017. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.15. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.54 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $41.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.