The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 245.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,966 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Nwam LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in Kroger by 115.5% during the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 99,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,709,000 after buying an additional 53,567 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 29.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 302,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,279,000 after buying an additional 68,516 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Kroger by 303.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 19,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 94,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,409,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock opened at $58.02 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $60.35.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.