Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Has $820,000 Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Kroger were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Kroger by 95.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 11,491 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 401,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,031,000 after buying an additional 6,585 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 42,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Kroger by 92.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Guggenheim assumed 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. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Kroger Trading Up 3.1 %

KR opened at $60.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $43.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.85. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.