Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 1,036 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of KR stock opened at $65.52 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.98. 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 market cap of $43.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total transaction of $1,170,570.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,208,617.56. The trade was a 11.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,815 shares of company stock valued at $11,101,588 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

Kroger Company 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.