25,890 Shares in The Kroger Co. $KR Acquired by AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has invested approximately $1.77 million in The Kroger Co., acquiring 25,890 shares during the first quarter.
• Kroger reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04, surpassing the consensus estimate, and had a revenue of $33.94 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35, reflecting a positive change and resulting in a 2.0% dividend yield.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,766,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 3.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 8.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,834,000 after buying an additional 24,849 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Kroger by 4.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded down $0.96 during trading on Monday, hitting $67.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,199,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,930,176. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.56 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $70.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.Kroger's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

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.