Golden State Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 67.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,336 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $90,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $69.50 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.69 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The company has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.00.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

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.