Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.18 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,660 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 32,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.84. The company had a trading volume of 4,668,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,371,758. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.10. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.59%.

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.