Wellington Management Group LLP Has $433.07 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP significantly increased its stake in The Kroger Co. by 85.3%, owning approximately 6.4 million shares valued at $433 million.
• Kroger reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.49, exceeding analyst expectations, despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline of 0.3%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.32 to $0.35 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 85.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,397,771 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,945,848 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.97% of Kroger worth $433,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,182 shares of the company's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2%

Kroger stock opened at $69.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $50.69 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.43.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 note on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.53.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,642,274.40. This trade represents a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 198,948 shares of company stock valued at $14,422,926. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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