Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,343 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,343 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KR. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 519,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,739,000 after acquiring an additional 216,586 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,554,000 after purchasing an additional 37,764 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $248,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 25,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,734,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $58.54 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $44.48 and a 52-week high of $63.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.73.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion during 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%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed 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. Six equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.14.

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.