The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,462 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Kroger were worth $198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KR. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $386,247.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.55.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $60.50 on Friday. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.97 and a 1 year high of $61.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.37. The stock has a market cap of $43.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.