The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Lessened by Maj Invest Holding A S

Maj Invest Holding A S decreased its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,241,804 shares of the company’s stock after selling 736,132 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for about 4.5% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Maj Invest Holding A S’s holdings in Kroger were worth $137,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 50,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,101,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. OLIO Financial Planning acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $210,000. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 26,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 10,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KR. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $58.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.83.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.