OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Sells 13,293 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp has cut its stock position in The Kroger Co. by 19.8%, holding 53,901 shares valued at approximately $3.65 million after selling 13,293 shares.
• Insider sales have also been significant, with an executive vice president selling over 71,000 shares worth around $5.23 million, representing a 33.86% decrease in their holdings.
• Kroger recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, which reflects a 2.1% dividend yield for investors.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp decreased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,901 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,293 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $967,863,000 after purchasing an additional 186,302 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 85.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,363,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,156,000 after purchasing an additional 865,699 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $277,989,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Melius Research raised Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.58.

Kroger Stock Up 0.5%

KR traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.83. 5,420,800 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,593,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.72. The company has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $50.69 and a one year high of $74.90.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was 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 $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $13,127,098.68. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.