Courier Capital LLC Sells 6,683 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Courier Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,683 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after purchasing an additional 126,303 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after buying an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $59.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

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.