The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 334.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 595 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Kroger were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,662,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,168,000 after purchasing an additional 498,995 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,833,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,551,000 after purchasing an additional 511,978 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,023,000 after purchasing an additional 78,710 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,005,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,242,000 after purchasing an additional 10,556 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,246,000 after purchasing an additional 50,177 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $368,445.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR opened at $54.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.96 and a 200-day moving average of $48.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on KR. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

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.