Kwmg LLC Buys 1,490 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Kwmg LLC raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Kroger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kroger by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,739,000 after purchasing an additional 118,209 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE KR traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.29. 2,785,348 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,234,124. The firm has a market cap of $35.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 29.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,615,091.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.30.

Kroger Company 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.