Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 2,799 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,186 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $61.03 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seven research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.