Ieq Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Ieq Capital LLC lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 90.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,124 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,307 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock worth $967,863,000 after acquiring an additional 186,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,156,000 after purchasing an additional 865,699 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $342,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $277,989,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total value of $2,437,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Roth Capital increased their target price on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating 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. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $0.61 on Wednesday, reaching $67.03. 9,295,087 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,080,502. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.83. The firm has a market cap of $44.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

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.