Insider Selling: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) EVP Sells 71,224 Shares of Stock

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.88 on Tuesday, hitting $73.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,268,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,856,585. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $68.98 and its 200-day moving average is $65.37. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kroger from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kroger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KR. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 1.3% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 208,073 shares of the company's stock worth $14,084,000 after buying an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $631,000. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,730,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

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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