Modern Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired 9,662 shares of The Kroger Co. valued at approximately $654,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Kroger reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue slightly fell short of estimates.
• The company's quarterly dividend was increased to $0.35 per share, representing a yield of 2.0% with a payout ratio of 35.53%.

Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Kroger by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,834,000 after buying an additional 24,849 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Kroger by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 67.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, 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 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. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% 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 worth $14,422,926. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE KR opened at $68.38 on Monday. 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 $54.51 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $45.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $68.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays initiated coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.58.

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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