Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Has $682,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 122.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,075 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,536 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.0% in the first quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 15,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 2,347 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 37.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 25.5% in the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,000 after buying an additional 6,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Kroger by 99.6% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 7,199 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $64.54 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.91. The company has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $73.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,617.56. The trade was a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,815 shares of company stock worth $11,101,588 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% 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.