Acropolis Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,149 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,989 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KR. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 53,006 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 1.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the second quarter worth $10,336,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Kroger Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE KR opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.