State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $6.27 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,760 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Kroger were worth $6,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,619,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,246,000 after purchasing an additional 50,177 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 10.1% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Kroger by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 585,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,201,000 after buying an additional 57,595 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 284,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $445,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.30.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $50.76 on Thursday. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $58.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $36.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.06.

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

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.09%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 77,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kroger news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $832,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,681.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.