Montecito Bank & Trust Buys 695 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Montecito Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,205 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Kroger were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 218.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kroger in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KR. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:KR opened at $58.68 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $44.48 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.