Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its stake in The Kroger Co. by 6.8%, owning 234,800 shares after selling 17,000 shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $16.84 million.
• Insiders at Kroger have been active, with EVP Mary Ellen Adcock selling 34,250 shares for approximately $2.44 million, representing a 15.66% decrease in her holdings.
• Kroger's recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates with an EPS of $1.04, while the company also announced a $0.35 per share quarterly dividend set for payment on December 1st.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,000 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $16,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Kroger by 85.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock worth $433,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the first quarter valued at $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock worth $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 7,363.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,706,397 shares of the company's stock worth $115,506,000 after buying an additional 1,683,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at about $62,730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of KR opened at $65.95 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.56 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.59. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.94.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 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 analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 yield of 2.1%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.70.

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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