St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. $KR

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 778 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,299,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,863,000 after purchasing an additional 186,302 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,397,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,065,000 after buying an additional 2,945,848 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,067,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,999,000 after buying an additional 31,477 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,084,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,485,000 after buying an additional 2,059,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 1st quarter valued at about $178,385,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

Kroger Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE:KR opened at $67.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.60 and a fifty-two week high of $74.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.08 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 32.62%. Kroger’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.700-4.800 EPS. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

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

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.