IHT Wealth Management LLC Has $587,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 15.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,254 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Kroger by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 44,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 10,902 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Kroger by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 9,430 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $456,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Kroger Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $59.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $61.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

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.