Wedmont Private Capital Has $321,000 Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,121 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Kroger were worth $321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $229,863,000. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $185,913,000. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 378.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 765,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,988,000 after purchasing an additional 605,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 86.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,274,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,840,000 after purchasing an additional 590,818 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,167,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,031,801. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

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.