1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Has $122,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the 2nd 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 period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR opened at $55.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $58.34. The firm has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.06 and its 200-day moving average is $53.89.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $33.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total transaction of $167,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at $784,715.40. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 worth $721,243 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KR. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.09.

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.