Jmac Enterprises LLC Invests $311,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Jmac Enterprises LLC acquired a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,027,979,000 after purchasing an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,768,000 after buying an additional 916,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KR. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,349.20. This trade represents a 61.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,865,706. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 9.7%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $71.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $47.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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.