The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 602,195 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,647 shares during the period. Kroger accounts for approximately 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kroger were worth $36,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KR. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE:KR opened at $64.80 on Tuesday. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $66.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.33.

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

Kroger announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.