The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Palmer Knight Co

Palmer Knight Co boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 107,295 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises about 2.9% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $61.13 on Thursday. 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 moving average of $60.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

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

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

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.