Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Acquires 7,709 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 452,352 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned about 0.06% of Kroger worth $27,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Melius Research cut Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

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Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. This trade represents a 19.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,463,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,370,628. The firm has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.82 and its 200-day moving average is $61.51. 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 Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.