Venture Visionary Partners LLC Sells 44,266 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners LLC sold 44,266 shares of The Kroger Co., reducing its stake by 76.7%, and now holds 13,466 shares valued at $912,000.
• Kroger recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.35, with a dividend yield of 2.0% and an annualized dividend of $1.40.
• The company’s earnings per share for the last quarter were $1.49, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.45, while quarterly revenue decreased by 0.3% from the previous year.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 76.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,266 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFC Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1.6% in the first 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 during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its position in Kroger by 2.8% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.4%

KR opened at $71.7320 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.74 and its 200-day moving average is $68.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-year high of $74.90. 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 has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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 is 38.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total transaction of $2,749,822.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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