8,236 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Contravisory Investment Management Inc.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,067,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,669,554. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.46. The company has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, December 20th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.