Parallel Advisors LLC Raises Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,429 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE KR opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.70. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,617.56. The trade was a 11.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 213,217 shares of company stock worth $14,275,261 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.