State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $15.59 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 254,978 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,242 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Kroger were worth $15,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 90 days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $0.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $70.07. 2,174,538 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,946,654. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business's fifty day moving average is $66.78 and its 200-day moving average is $62.40.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

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.