Gen Wealth Partners Inc Trims Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Gen Wealth Partners Inc decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 64.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc’s holdings in Kroger were worth $84,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $264,207,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,829,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Kroger by 7,363.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,535 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE KR opened at $69.67 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.27.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Melius raised shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.53.

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.