The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Acquired by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its stake in Kroger by 1.6%, acquiring an additional 15,125 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately $65.3 million.
• Kroger recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, equating to a 2.0% dividend yield.
• The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.45, with revenue of $45.12 billion.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 965,081 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,125 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.15% of Kroger worth $65,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 8.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 307,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24,849 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Kroger by 4.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 67.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.58.

Kroger Stock Up 0.5%

KR traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.83. 5,420,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,686,693. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The company has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.66.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following 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 have sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Kroger

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.