Raymond James Trust N.A. Purchases 1,626 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,032 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $4,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Kroger by 334.3% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.64.

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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.20. The stock had a trading volume of 125,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,965,673. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The company has a market capitalization of $37.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

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.