Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC has reduced its stake in Kroger Co. by 18.7%, selling 16,462 shares and now holding 71,759 shares valued at approximately $4.86 million.
• Kroger has reported quarterly earnings of $1.49 EPS, beating estimates, and has set a FY 2025 guidance of 4.600-4.800 EPS.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.35 per share, up from $0.32, which reflects a 2.0% dividend yield and shows a continued commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,759 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,462 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $4,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,563 shares of the company's stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 57,463 shares of the company's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 47,881 shares of the company's stock worth $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 22,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total value of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% 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. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of KR stock traded down $1.9870 on Friday, reaching $69.4330. 6,981,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,605,369. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $70.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $50.69 and a 52 week high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Roth Capital raised their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

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.