36,909 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 36,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,498,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.11.

Kroger Stock Up 9.7%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $71.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.27. The stock has a market cap of $47.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,679 shares of company stock worth $7,865,706. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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