Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $12.84 Million Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. by 2.6%, now owning 178,931 shares valued at approximately $12.84 million.
• The Kroger Co. reported earnings of $1.04 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $33.94 billion in the last quarter.
• Kroger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, to be paid on December 1st, representing a 2.1% dividend yield.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,931 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,801 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock worth $967,863,000 after purchasing an additional 186,302 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at about $178,385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company'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 value of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% 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 this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.88 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $68.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.07. The company has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.88 and a twelve month high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. 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 presently 35.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KR. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital upgraded Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.63.

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.

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