Kroger Stock Is Weathering the Coronavirus Outbreak. Insiders Have Stepped Up Stock Sales. By Ed Lin March 28, 2020 7:00 am ET Groceries and other food retailers are seeing their most robust business in years. Photograph by Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg Kroger stock has largely dodged the market disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, and insiders have stepped up sales of their shares of the biggest U.S. supermarket chain. Shares have edged up 0.5% so far this year compared with the 21.3% dive in the S&P 500 index, a measure of the broader market. Kroger (ticker: KR) executives and directors have sold $4.7 million of stock since the beginning of the year compared with $2.2 million in all of last year. Some are selling for the first time in years. Groceries and other food retailers are seeing their most robust business in years as shoppers stock up for extended lockdowns. Kroger has said it wants to hire 10,000 workers to meet demand. The company declined to comment on the stock sales. Robert W. Clark, senior vice president of supply chain, manufacturing, and sourcing, has been the biggest seller of Kroger stock this year. Clark sold 48,500 shares in March for $1.6 million, a per-share average of $32.09. He now owns 185,518 shares,according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He last sold stock in December 2018 when he sold 14,500 shares for $233,300, a per-share average price of $29.16. James A. Runde, who has been a Kroger director since 2006, has sold 35,000 shares for $1.1 million, an average price of $32.80 each. Runde, a former vice chairman of Morgan Stanley (MS),now owns 102,578 Kroger shares. Last year, he sold 9,030 Kroger shares for $194,360, an average price per share of $21.52. EDITOR'S CHOICE Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Donnelly has sold 17,514 Kroger shares for $513,700, a per-share average price of $29.33. Donnelly sold stock through planned transactions using a so-called Rule 10b5-1 trading plan that he adopted on Sept. 23, 2019. Such a device automatically executes transactions when conditions set by the insider, such as price and volume, are met. Planned transactions are meant to remove any potential bias an insider may have from knowledge of material nonpublic information. Donnelly sold 56,890 shares in 2019, some through planned transactions, for a total of $1.5 million. Erin S. Sharp, group vice president of manufacturing, has sold 11,829 Kroger shares for $390,400, a per-share average of $33. Her last open-market transaction was in September 2018 when Sharp sold 25,314 Kroger shares for $734,106. Bobby S. Shackouls, a Kroger director, and Mark C. Tuffin, a senior vice president, have sold shares valued at $263,300 and $74,000, respectively. Both last sold Kroger stock in 2015. Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups. Write toEd Linatedward.lin@barrons.comand follow@BarronsEdLin. https://www.barrons.com/articles/kr...break-insider-stock-sales-51585152609?mod=RTA
I've liked Kroger for years, but since it was trading about 50% higher than this time last year, I'd be a seller too. Same with CLX and KMB. People won't be hoarding toilet paper and Clorox forever.