Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Kroger Co. $KR

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management purchased a new position in Kroger during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,901,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Kroger by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 51,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 115,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,298,000 after buying an additional 5,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $272,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,718.50. This represents a 4.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.63.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $67.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $54.88 and a 1-year high of $74.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.09.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

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.