Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 31,734 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 740,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,734 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $49,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter worth about $518,267,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Kroger by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,255,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100,444 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Kroger by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,193,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,064,000 after purchasing an additional 233,466 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,680,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,843,000 after buying an additional 265,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Kroger by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,309,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,476,000 after buying an additional 41,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Kroger and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kroger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.56.

Kroger Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of KR stock opened at $74.98 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.20 and a 200 day moving average of $65.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $58.60 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.45 billion, a PE ratio of 49.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.08. Kroger had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The business had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 91.50%.

Key Headlines Impacting Kroger

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post‑earnings optimism and analyst price‑target hikes following Kroger’s March 5 earnings beat and FY2026 guidance; analysts cited improving e‑commerce and pharmacy trends and lifted targets, supporting the rally. Kroger shares rise 3.9% as post-earnings optimism and price-target hikes build
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share (paid June 1; record May 15). The company has grown the dividend at a ~13% CAGR since reinstatement in 2006 — a positive for income and total‑return focused investors. Kroger’s Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore and other research notes have recently boosted targets and reiterated constructive views (Evercore raised its target to $83), reinforcing investor confidence after the latest results. Kroger (KR) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Evercore
• Neutral Sentiment: Kroger hit an all‑time high intraday, reflecting the cumulative effect of earnings, guidance and capital‑return news; this can attract momentum flows but also prompts valuation scrutiny. Kroger stock reaches all-time high
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/operational updates from new management — customer appreciation promotions and a public outline of five growth priorities — signal active turnaround work; these are positive for execution but require time to show margin impact. Kroger and new CEO outline 5 growth priorities
• Neutral Sentiment: Ocado’s move toward store‑based automated fulfillment and talks with other retailers reduces dependence on its past Kroger‑exclusive model — not an immediate hit to Kroger but worth monitoring for future e‑commerce capacity dynamics. Ocado turns to store-based e-commerce fulfillment
• Negative Sentiment: Kroger plans to close about 50 Little Clinics — a pullback that could reduce health‑service revenue and signals a strategic reset in healthcare operations. Investors may view this as a short‑term headwind or a cost‑cutting move depending on execution. Kroger plans to shutter 50 Little Clinics
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts cautioned Kroger is becoming fairly valued after the rally and issued downgrades or neutral takes, which could limit upside if earnings/delivery fall short of elevated expectations. Kroger: Strong E‑Commerce Growth, But Fairly Valued After Rally (Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Food‑safety recall coverage (expanded frozen fried rice recall including Kroger products) is a small operational risk that can traffic negative headlines and local sales impacts. Frozen fried rice recall expanded by USDA

About Kroger

The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest supermarket operators in the United States, offering a wide range of retail grocery and related services. Founded in Cincinnati in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, the company operates a portfolio of supermarket and multi-department store banners and provides customers with fresh foods, packaged groceries, deli and bakery items, meat and seafood, produce, and prepared foods. Kroger’s stores commonly include pharmacy services and fuel centers, positioning the company as a broad-based neighborhood retail destination for everyday needs.

In addition to traditional in-store retailing, Kroger manufactures and distributes a variety of private-label brands and operates its own food production and supply-chain facilities.