Summit Trail Advisors LLC Has $457,000 Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 20.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,975 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.2% in the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 5.6% during the third quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.29. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $42.97 and a 52-week high of $60.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a return on equity of 28.54% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,743.01. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 74,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.27.

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.