JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 37,222 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.85% of Kroger worth $353,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after buying an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,336,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $566,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the second quarter valued at about $6,524,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 6,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $386,247.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,715.40. The trade was a 32.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 202,370 shares of company stock valued at $12,530,170 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $62.34 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.61. The stock has a market cap of $45.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.