Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 310 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Kroger by 49.4% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 24,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 7,989 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 156,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,961,000 after purchasing an additional 23,928 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 4.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7 %

KR opened at $58.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.82 and a 200-day moving average of $54.21.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.09.

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.