Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.26 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at $291,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 35.5% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $1,115,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $67,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of KR opened at $59.22 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $42.97 and a twelve month high of $60.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.23.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.09.

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.