The Kroger Co. $KR Holdings Boosted by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,124 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,420 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $20,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Kroger during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,016,956,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Kroger by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,296,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $889,878,000 after purchasing an additional 53,625 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Kroger by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,041,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,129,000 after purchasing an additional 876,168 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Kroger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $284,501,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Kroger by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,942,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,912,000 after buying an additional 610,039 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Top Kroger Stories

Here are a few of the latest stories about KR:

• Positive Sentiment: A long-term investing article highlights Kroger’s relatively quick dividend growth and illustrates how recurring annual investments could build dividend income over time. The example is a projection, not a guaranteed return. If You Invest $1,200 a year in Kroger Stock, Here’s the Dividend Income It Could Generate Over 20 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage argues Kroger’s grocery “moat” remains a strength amid uncertainty around the Albertsons deal, supporting the case for its competitive resilience. Albertsons deal or no deal: Why Kroger’s grocery moat is winning
• Negative Sentiment: Five Below, Dollar General and Ollie’s are identified as competitors creating challenges for traditional grocers, potentially adding pressure to Kroger’s customer traffic and pricing. Five Below and Dollar General challenge Kroger, Publix

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KR. Melius Research set a $80.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Evercore set a $70.00 price objective on Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.35.

Kroger Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of KR stock opened at $69.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $54.15 and a 12 month high of $76.58. The stock has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.81.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 11th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 49.90%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 5.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 84.78%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Mary Adcock sold 72,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $4,425,090.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 175,233 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,643.10. This represents a 29.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co. is a U.S. grocery retailer founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. It operates supermarkets and other grocery formats across the United States under banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, and Smith’s. Alongside groceries and household essentials, Kroger stores offer services such as pharmacies and fuel centers. The company also sells products under its own private-label brands and produces many of those items through its food manufacturing operations.