Arizona State Retirement System Buys 5,909 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 201,741 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Kroger were worth $13,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total transaction of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 49,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,642,274.40. The trade was a 25.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This trade represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 244,462 shares of company stock worth $17,649,963. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,004,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,084. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.31. The company has a market cap of $47.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $50.69 and a 1-year high of $74.11.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

About Kroger

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.