Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 704,531 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 39.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,087,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 704,531 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Kroger were worth $73,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 18,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 37,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,285,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 31,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,948 shares of company stock worth $14,422,926. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KR shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius upgraded shares of Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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, August 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.58.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $67.83 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $50.69 and a 12 month 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 fifty day simple moving average is $71.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.68. The firm has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 34.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 38.15%.

Kroger 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.