Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 4,779 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC has reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 20.2%, selling 4,779 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 18,877 shares valued at approximately $1.35 million.
• The Kroger Co. reported $1.04 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing estimates, and generated revenue of $33.94 billion, which was slightly below analyst expectations.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, with shareholders of record set to receive the payment on December 1st, leading to an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 20.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,877 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,779 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter valued at $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Kroger by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,185,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,768,000 after buying an additional 976,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $62,730,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

KR opened at $66.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.75 and a 200 day moving average of $69.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.88 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 35.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.