Royal Bank of Canada Sells 115,511 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Kroger by 5.4% in the first quarter, owning approximately 2,012,213 shares valued at $136.2 million after selling 115,511 shares.
• Kroger's quarterly revenue decreased by 0.3% year-over-year to $45.12 billion, while it reported earnings per share of $1.49, beating analysts' estimates by $0.04.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 38.15%.

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,012,213 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,511 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.30% of Kroger worth $136,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Kroger by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Kroger by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its position in Kroger by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger 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 owned 184,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $67.74. 5,575,044 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,407,211. 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 50-day moving average is $70.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.79. The firm has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is 38.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on Kroger from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.58.

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.