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

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,197 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. 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 made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,876,397 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Kroger by 698.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $59.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.37. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Six investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.93.

Kroger 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.