17,500 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 12th, 2023

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $156,126,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12,613.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,129,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341,152 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Kroger by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,289,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,795,000 after buying an additional 2,874,114 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Kroger by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,667,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,642,000 after buying an additional 2,552,989 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,066,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,854,000 after buying an additional 2,114,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Kroger from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, June 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. 3M reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kroger from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christine S. Wheatley sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.49, for a total value of $1,187,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 126,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,024,866.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Christine S. Wheatley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.49, for a total value of $1,187,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 126,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,024,866.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 23,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $1,102,850.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 194,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,348,140.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $47.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $41.81 and a 1-year high of $52.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 15th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.96% and a net margin of 1.71%. The business had revenue of $45.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kroger

(Free Report)

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.