The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 618,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102,000 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Kroger were worth $37,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR opened at $62.71 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.00 and a 1 year high of $66.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.72. The company has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

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.