Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after acquiring an additional 773,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after purchasing an additional 416,962 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 3.3 %

KR traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.30. 11,454,556 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,412,355. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $71.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. Bank of America upped their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.