Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,534,844 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Kroger by 64.5%, selling over 1.5 million shares and now holding approximately 0.13% of the company.
• Kroger's executives, including EVP Yael Cosset, have sold significant amounts of stock recently, with total insider sales amounting to $14.4 million in the past 90 days.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, with a payout ratio of 38.15% and a current dividend yield of 2.1%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 64.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 844,008 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,534,844 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.13% of Kroger worth $57,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Aperture Investors LLC grew its position in Kroger by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Aperture Investors LLC now owns 46,723 shares of the company's stock worth $3,163,000 after acquiring an additional 15,117 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 135.3% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 49,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 28,686 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kroger by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This trade represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,448,791.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7%

Kroger stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.14. 6,846,842 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,058,676. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. 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 quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $70.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.73.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a return on equity of 34.71% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. 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. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Melius Research upgraded Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.