New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 22,062 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 351,169 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,062 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price objective on Kroger and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $83.00 price target on Kroger and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.22. 900,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,902,745. The company has a market cap of $47.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $50.69 and a 52-week high of $74.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 26,814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $1,890,387.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,989,581.50. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 37,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.44, for a total value of $2,749,822.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,791.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 243,815 shares of company stock worth $17,652,983. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.