Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Kroger were worth $152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kroger by 3.2% during the third quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of KR opened at $59.92 on Wednesday. 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 $43.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.44. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $44.48 and a 1 year high of $63.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.93.

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.