Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Acquires 12,274 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 104.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,986 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,274 shares during the quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the first 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 during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Kroger by 2.8% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 51,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,828,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 22.3% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 148,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,502,000 after acquiring an additional 27,121 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 32.0% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,605 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $212,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.45. The company had a trading volume of 351,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,732,570. The company has a market capitalization of $40.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.90. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

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.