Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $34.68 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 694,596 shares of the company’s stock after selling 302,687 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Kroger were worth $34,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 23,786,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,427 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,453,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,653,000 after purchasing an additional 214,852 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,592,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $229,863,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,610,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,739,000 after purchasing an additional 118,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total value of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Down 0.5 %

Kroger stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.95. 2,818,462 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,995,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.60 and its 200-day moving average is $52.94.

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 company had revenue of $45.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.86 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. Kroger’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kroger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.64.

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.