Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 66,118 Shares of The Kroger Co. $KR

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 12.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 480,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,118 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kroger were worth $34,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Kroger by 9.9% during the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 256,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,561,000 after acquiring an additional 23,200 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 47.4% during the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 108,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,820,000 after acquiring an additional 34,755 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 13.1% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter worth approximately $1,064,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.5% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 209,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,192 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kroger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kroger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kroger is rolling out new in-store wine shops to capture demand for premium products, which could support higher-margin sales and improve traffic. Kroger launches store wine shops to tap into consumer demand for premium options
• Positive Sentiment: Kroger also made a major change to its rewards program that helps shoppers, which may strengthen customer loyalty and encourage repeat spending. Kroger makes major change to rewards program that will help shoppers
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said concerns about Walmart’s price investments tied to Kroger-related headlines may be overdone, suggesting Kroger’s competitive actions are being noticed by the market. Buy Walmart stock as price investment fear is overdone, Bernstein says
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighted several new food items at Kroger in July, which may help draw shoppers but is unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. The 7 Best New Food Items To Grab At Kroger In July 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Kroger is scaling back or scrapping parts of its Florida expansion plans suggest a more cautious growth strategy, but the impact appears limited for now. Kroger wipes out plan for 80 stores in Florida
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on the Kroger-Giant Eagle merger process; while approval is now seen as more likely, the deal still depends on regulatory review and limited divestitures, which keeps uncertainty around the stock. The Kroger-Giant Eagle deal is seen being approved after limited store divestitures
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust scrutiny around the Kroger-Giant Eagle merger could slow or complicate approval, adding another layer of headline risk for KR. Will the Kroger-Giant Eagle deal face regulatory challenges?

Kroger Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of KR stock opened at $56.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The stock has a market cap of $34.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.66. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $54.15 and a 1 year high of $76.58.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.01). Kroger had a return on equity of 44.33% and a net margin of 0.71%.The company had revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Kroger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 91.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $78.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays set a $61.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group set a $63.00 target price on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.