Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 12,261 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 406,523 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,261 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Kroger worth $27,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 11.7% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,642 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 172.2% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Park Capital Management LLC WI raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Park Capital Management LLC WI now owns 16,821 shares of the company's stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $311,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 145,547 shares of the company's stock worth $9,852,000 after acquiring an additional 18,668 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 118,761 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% 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, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $754,370.19. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 207,793 shares of company stock valued at $14,938,358 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.47.

Kroger Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.43. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $74.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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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