New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 103,866 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 658,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103,866 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kroger were worth $30,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 4,810.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,955,000 after purchasing an additional 556,266 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,707 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in Kroger by 49.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 38,119 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Kroger by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 156,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,143,000 after acquiring an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kroger by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,647,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,175,000 after acquiring an additional 115,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock opened at $55.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $42.10 and a 12-month high of $58.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $37.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.07 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

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.