OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Kroger by 303.1% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 19,065 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 13.1% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Kroger by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 525,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,384,000 after purchasing an additional 58,580 shares during the last quarter. Natixis grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 129.1% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 78,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after buying an additional 44,118 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam grew its position in Kroger by 163.2% in the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 172,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,877,000 after acquiring an additional 107,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,715.40. This represents a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Argus increased 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. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Kroger Trading Up 0.1 %

KR opened at $58.06 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.13. The company has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.31 and a one year high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

About Kroger

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.