Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,540 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 6,840.0% in the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Friday, September 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.63.

Insider Activity at Kroger

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

Kroger Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE KR opened at $67.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.05. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $54.88 and a 52 week high of $74.90.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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.