Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Has $688,000 Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,022 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,491 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 401,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,585 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 92.0% in 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 in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.3% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Kroger by 2.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % 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 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on KR. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $60.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.21 and a 200-day moving average of $56.91. The stock has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. 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.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often 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.