Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Buys 9,455 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,477 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,455 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 2.0% of Buck Wealth Strategies LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $10,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock worth $478,768,000 after acquiring an additional 916,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.11.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,810.72. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 111,679 shares of company stock worth $7,865,706 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 9.7%

NYSE KR traded up $6.33 on Friday, hitting $71.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,151,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,835,366. 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 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The company's 50-day moving average is $68.89 and its 200 day moving average is $65.27. The firm has a market cap of $47.48 billion, a PE 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 data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Company 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.