J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Cuts Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 29.1%, holding 27,903 shares valued at approximately $2 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Kroger's stock currently has a Moderate Buy consensus rating among analysts, with a price target averaging around $73.63 following several recent upgrades.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, with an annual yield of 2.1%, to be paid on December 1st.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,903 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,471 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Kroger were worth $2,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital raised shares of Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Argus set a $85.00 price objective on Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.63.

Kroger Stock Down 0.1%

KR stock opened at $66.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $54.88 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.98. The firm has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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