Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 7,022 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,022 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 85,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 27,753 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 398,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,365,000 after acquiring an additional 9,804 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 50,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLIO Financial Planning bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $60.46 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.91.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.80.

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.