The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Washington Capital Management Inc.

Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 267.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,850 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,350 shares during the quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Kroger by 95.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,567 shares of the company's stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 11,491 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 401,174 shares of the company's stock worth $20,031,000 after buying an additional 6,585 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Kroger by 92.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,305 shares of the company's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE KR traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,665,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,080,978. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.99. 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 twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a market capitalization of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Company 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.