New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 672,829 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,283 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Kroger worth $45,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on KR. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company 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. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 71,224 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $5,234,251.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 139,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,224,222.76. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Ellen Adcock sold 34,250 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.16, for a total transaction of $2,437,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,127,098.68. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 280,003 shares of company stock worth $20,125,410 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.22. 1,295,001 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,860,114. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $50.26 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The firm has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.79. 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 results 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 company had revenue of $45.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. Kroger's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current 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 1.99%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

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.