Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,612 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Balentine LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 103,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of KR opened at $55.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.87. The company has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total transaction of $1,693,450.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.