Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 35.5%, selling 688,728 shares, it now owns approximately 0.19% of Kroger valued at $84.8 million.
• Insider sales included significant transactions from EVPs Gabriel Arreaga and Mary Ellen Adcock, with both reporting a decrease in their stock ownership after selling shares valued at over $5 million combined.
• Kroger recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 35.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,253,361 shares of the company's stock after selling 688,728 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.19% of Kroger worth $84,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24,849 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Kroger by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 0.8%

KR stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.41. 6,584,244 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,902,458. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This represents a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Kroger 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.