The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. cut its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,688 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp raised its position in Kroger by 334.3% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KR. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,681.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 6,616 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total transaction of $368,445.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,615,091.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $50.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $58.34.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

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.