Transform Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Transform Wealth LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 218.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued 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 a consensus target price of $65.93.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value 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 approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:KR opened at $58.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $63.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.19 and a 200 day moving average of $56.67.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.