New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 847,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,455 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Kroger worth $37,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. RFP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 78.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kroger from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $47.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Kroger from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.31.
Kroger Price Performance
Kroger (NYSE:KR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.09. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 1.51%. The company had revenue of $34.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kroger Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.88%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $1,232,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 178,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,789,787.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 25,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $1,232,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 178,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,789,787.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gary Millerchip sold 30,182 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total transaction of $1,475,296.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 185,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,063,476.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 153,505 shares of company stock worth $7,332,497. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.
About Kroger
The Kroger Co engages in the operation of supermarkets and multi-department stores. Its brands include Big K, Check This Out?, Heritage Farm, Simple Truth, and Simple Truth Organic. The company was founded by Barney Kroger in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.
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