Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Buys 547 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,929 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 547 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 40.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,498,000 after buying an additional 26,079 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Kroger by 95.2% during the second 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 period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Kroger by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 230,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after purchasing an additional 98,546 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth $2,470,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $58.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.17 and a 200-day moving average of $56.79.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.