Acropolis Investment Management LLC Has $2.20 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,336,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Up 0.7 %

Kroger stock opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The stock has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was 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 $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.