Have Insiders Sold Kroger Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mary Adcock, the Executive VP and Chief Merchant & Marketing Officer recently netted about US$2.4m selling shares at an average price of US$71.16. That sale reduced their total holding by 16% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Kroger

Notably, that recent sale by Mary Adcock is the biggest insider sale of Kroger shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$71.35, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 16% of Mary Adcock's holding.

In the last year Kroger insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

View our latest analysis for Kroger

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Insider Ownership Of Kroger

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Kroger insiders own 0.9% of the company, currently worth about US$406m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Kroger Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Kroger is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Kroger. For example - Kroger has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.