Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,484 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,426 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,484 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

KR stock opened at $64.69 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.78. 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 company has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.