California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 850,179 shares of the company's stock after selling 110,226 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Kroger worth $51,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after acquiring an additional 120,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $598,390,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Kroger by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,829,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,768,000 after acquiring an additional 916,230 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.10. 14,385,857 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,719,766. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $73.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KR shares. Melius Research raised Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Company 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.