Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Sells 4,830 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,830 shares during the quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.43. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The firm has a market cap 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, June 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.47.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 127,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 207,793 shares of company stock worth $14,938,358 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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