Secure Asset Management LLC Sells 1,265 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Secure Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,099 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $58.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.74. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Kroger’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kroger 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.