Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Makes New $3.41 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. $KR

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 54,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 61.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,367,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,249,307,000 after acquiring an additional 12,652,261 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Kroger by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,948,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,153,622,000 after purchasing an additional 386,503 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kroger in the second quarter valued at about $518,267,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Kroger by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,327,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,515,000 after purchasing an additional 865,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Kroger by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,255,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100,444 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of KR stock opened at $73.26 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.14. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $58.60 and a twelve month high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $46.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.88, a PEG ratio of 1.97 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. Kroger had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 0.69%.The company had revenue of $34.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Kroger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.56.

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.