Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 190 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Kroger by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 34,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Kroger by 53.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 5,853 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 9.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 20.9% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $60.09 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.97 and a 12-month high of $60.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.25.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This trade represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.27.

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.