Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 40,844 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 561,351 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,844 shares during the period. Kroger comprises about 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Kroger worth $37,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Kroger by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 57,030 shares of the company's stock worth $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KR shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Kroger Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:KR traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $71.40. 8,981,889 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,885,702. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $47.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $74.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.57.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,224,222.76. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,711,810.72. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 245,753 shares of company stock worth $17,688,180. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.