State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 28,242 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 254,978 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,242 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Kroger were worth $15,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 220.9% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 179,707 shares of the company's stock worth $10,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,391,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.03. The company had a trading volume of 8,847,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,531,526. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares in the company, valued at $754,370.19. This represents a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. This represents a 56.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on KR. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Melius Research cut Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

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.