The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stake Reduced by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,985,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,654 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.41% of Kroger worth $182,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $66.77 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.