Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,195 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,647 shares during the quarter. Kroger makes up 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Kroger worth $36,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after acquiring an additional 148,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Kroger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of KR opened at $64.80 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.33. The stock has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. The trade was a 18.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock valued at $12,143,923. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.19.

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.