MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stock holdings in The Kroger Co. by 38.5% in Q1, bringing its total to 118,377 shares valued at $8,013,000.
• Kroger recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, leading to an annualized dividend of $1.40 and a yield of 2.1%.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.49, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $45.12 billion slightly below expectations.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 38.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,377 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,930 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. IFC Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 1.6% during the first quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:KR opened at $67.03 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $70.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.82. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $44.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital boosted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research raised Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

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. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Company 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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