Foster & Motley Inc. Has $11.11 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 243,102 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,032 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for about 0.8% of Foster & Motley Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $11,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Kroger by 10.7% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. 1900 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $350,000. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $252,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:KR traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.93. 3,786,513 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,956,430. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

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.