Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $9.37 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,397 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,145 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $9,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 179,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,970,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 9.7%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $71.85 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $68.89 and its 200-day moving average is $65.20. The company has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 28.17%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This represents a 61.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total transaction of $2,083,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 127,737 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 111,679 shares of company stock worth $7,865,706 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.11.

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.

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