The Kroger Co. $KR Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in Kroger Co. by 8.1%, owning 446,822 shares after selling 39,227 during the first quarter.
• Kroger recently reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has set FY 2025 guidance at $4.600-4.800 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.35 per share, representing a yield of 2.0%, up from the previous dividend of $0.32.

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,822 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,227 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises approximately 0.8% of Martingale Asset Management L P's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P owned approximately 0.07% of Kroger worth $30,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 46.7% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,761 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,314. This trade represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $1.9870 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.4330. 6,981,074 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,605,369. The firm has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.58.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven investment 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 a consensus target price of $70.58.

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.