Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $18.76 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 328,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,958 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Kroger were worth $18,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 115.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Kroger by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 122,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,755 shares during the period. Forum Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $310,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the period. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Kroger by 1,270.8% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 76,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $54.56 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.07. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.64.

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.