Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $659,000 in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock worth $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,733 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,024 shares of the company's stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $771,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Kroger by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 84,239 shares of the company's stock worth $5,151,000 after buying an additional 3,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.37. 5,096,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,767,579. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $69.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.58. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $72,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $754,370.19. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,669 shares of company stock worth $13,155,425 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.