The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 43.2%, ending up with 15,582 shares valued at approximately $1.1 million.
• Kroger recently reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share.
• Analysts are mixed on Kroger, with a majority rating the stock as a Hold and setting an average target price of $72.70, while some have upgraded it to a Buy rating.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 43.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,582 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,834 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $1,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Kroger by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 24,849 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Kroger by 4.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. The trade was a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company'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 value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 102,834 shares of company stock valued at $7,350,274. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $64.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,937,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,053,847. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $42.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Kroger's payout ratio is 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Argus set a $85.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.70.

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.