Independent Wealth Network Inc. Has $1.15 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,743 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,498,000 after buying an additional 26,079 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 121,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,078,000 after buying an additional 9,517 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 26,287.1% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Kroger by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,491 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Kroger by 698.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,878,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,307 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.4 %

KR stock opened at $58.78 on Thursday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $60.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.72. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $44.48 and a one year high of $63.59. The stock has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total transaction of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,965,563.32. This represents a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.14.

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.