Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 667 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,665 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $680,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $58.02 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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.