Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,343 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,343 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.14.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $58.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $63.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.73. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 typically a sign that the company’s board 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.