Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 3,901 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,356 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,901 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $598,390,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Down 0.0 %

KR traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.20. 5,496,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,597,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $67.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.63. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The stock has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company's 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 approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,905.59. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.