LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,471 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,702 shares during the period. Kroger makes up about 1.4% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's holdings in Kroger were worth $12,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 96.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company's stock worth $268,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Kroger by 698.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company's stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger
In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Melius Research started coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.93.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Kroger
Kroger Trading Up 0.6 %
Kroger stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.24. 5,926,951 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,508,407. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $42.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.21. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
About Kroger
(
Free Report)
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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