Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $12.84 Million Stake in The Kroger Co. $KR

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,931 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,801 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $12,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Kroger by 3.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 8.1% during the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 51,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.8% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 115,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 69.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 10,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $67.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $54.88 and a twelve month high of $74.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Kroger had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 1.86%.The firm had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.63.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 3,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $272,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,850 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,718.50. This trade 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 currently owned by corporate 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.