The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,785 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.9% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 418,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,734,000 after purchasing an additional 23,440 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.3% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 126,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,652,000 after purchasing an additional 14,851 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 747,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,447,000 after purchasing an additional 10,262 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 12.6% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 41.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 278,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,466,000 after purchasing an additional 81,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $50.21 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $42.10 and a 1 year high of $58.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.79. The company has a market cap of $36.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, 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 three months, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.20.

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.