Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $45.15 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 667,067 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,425 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.10% of Kroger worth $45,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,815 shares of company stock worth $11,101,588 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. Finally, Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.52. 6,507,714 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,787,713. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $68.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.04. The firm has a market cap of $43.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58.

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.