Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Sells 950 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 950 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises about 3.0% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $114,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,000,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,316,000 after buying an additional 13,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.32 on Thursday, hitting $50.75. 3,191,500 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,593,407. 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 stock has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.72 and a 200 day moving average of $51.06.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on 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 given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

Kroger 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.