Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Buys 976,100 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. has increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 80.7% during the second quarter, now holding approximately 2.18 million shares valued at $156.77 million.
• Kroger recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.1% set to be paid on December 1st.
• The company reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate by $0.04, although revenues slightly missed analysts' expectations.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 80.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,185,530 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 976,100 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.33% of Kroger worth $156,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Kroger by 85.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $178,385,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Kroger by 101.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company's stock worth $276,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $62,730,000. Finally, Tredje AP fonden bought a new stake in Kroger in the first quarter worth approximately $54,105,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Down 1.3%

KR stock opened at $66.51 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $68.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.98. 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 Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $54.88 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The stock has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KR. Barclays began coverage on Kroger in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.63.

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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