Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 24,849 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,790 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,849 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $20,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after purchasing an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,768,000 after purchasing an additional 916,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,870,057.28. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,679 shares of company stock worth $7,865,706 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 9.7%

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $71.85 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. 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 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.24.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 28.17%. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.11.

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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