Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $2.40 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,197 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 263 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Kroger by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 698.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after buying an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 0.7 %

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

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during 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%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.