ICA Group Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,707 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after acquiring an additional 261,368 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,143,000 after acquiring an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $671,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock worth $3,118,767. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.18.

Kroger Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:KR opened at $51.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.81. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34.

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.