The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.56% of Kroger worth $249,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,795,000 after buying an additional 126,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,562,000 after acquiring an additional 723,771 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after acquiring an additional 917,923 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $60.49 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $44.48 and a 12-month high of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.93 and its 200-day moving average is $56.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business 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%. Kroger’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.93.

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.