Summit Trail Advisors LLC Has $202,000 Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,098 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KR. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,168,000 after acquiring an additional 498,995 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after purchasing an additional 511,978 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,023,000 after purchasing an additional 78,710 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,005,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,242,000 after buying an additional 10,556 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,246,000 after buying an additional 50,177 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE KR opened at $55.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.83. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

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.