Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 19,464 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,112,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 334.3% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 370.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE KR traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, hitting $53.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,961,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,912,037. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.87 and its 200 day moving average is $49.47. The firm has a market cap of $38.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.21. Kroger had a return on equity of 31.44% and a net margin of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $37.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Kroger's payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at $214,889.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 30,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.98, for a total value of $1,693,450.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,894,582.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $224,070.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,889.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,767. 1.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Kroger from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kroger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kroger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.17.

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.

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