Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Sells 800 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,925 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $59.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $61.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,932 shares of company stock worth $721,243. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.33.

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.