Advocate Group LLC Has $7.05 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Advocate Group LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 59.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,108 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,630 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $7,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of Kroger 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,865,706. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded up $6.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.85. The stock had a trading volume of 35,151,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,835,366. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. Kroger's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger 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.