Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $23.61 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 61.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348,728 shares of the company's stock after selling 559,527 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.05% of Kroger worth $23,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of KR stock traded down $0.73 on Friday, hitting $69.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,716,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,875,624. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.69 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $69.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $45.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Kroger's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Kroger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 16,475 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.79, for a total value of $1,215,690.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 49,360 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Massa sold 8,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $622,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 118,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,788,314. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 244,462 shares of company stock valued at $17,649,963. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kroger from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius raised Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Kroger from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

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.