Independent Advisor Alliance Has $1.95 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of Kroger 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. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE KR opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.70. The stock has a market cap of $43.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.