Farther Finance Advisors LLC Purchases 7,199 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 99.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,429 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,199 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew 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 worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius upgraded Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $65.07 on Friday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.94. The company has a market cap of $43.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 17,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.19, for a total value of $1,170,570.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,617.56. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,815 shares of company stock valued at $11,101,588. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.