Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 166.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,582 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,866 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,449,000 after buying an additional 9,430 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company's stock worth $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,254 shares of the company's stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.26. 8,827,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,346,180. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.68 and its 200 day moving average is $61.33. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.