Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 750,906 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly increased its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 260.5%, acquiring an additional 750,906 shares to own a total of 1,039,163 shares valued at approximately $138.24 million.
• In the second quarter, several hedge funds also raised their positions in KKR, indicating strong institutional interest, with 76.26% of KKR's stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• KKR recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.185 per share, up from $0.18, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 260.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,039,163 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 750,906 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $138,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 589 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 2,071 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,239 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,628,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 7,422 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, MGB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.8% during the first quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KKR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $155.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $149.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.07.

Insider Activity at KKR & Co. Inc.

In related news, Chairman George R. Roberts sold 809,906 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.25, for a total value of $116,828,940.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 81,361,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,736,465,326.50. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 39.34% of the company's stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. stock traded down $2.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $146.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,598,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,654,930. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.15 and a 1 year high of $170.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $130.80 billion, a PE ratio of 68.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.04.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 12.95%.The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.42%.

KKR & Co. Inc. Company Profile

KKR & Co, Inc operates as an investment firm. It offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. The firm's business segments include Asset Management and Insurance Business. The Asset Management segment engages in providing private equity, real assets, credit and liquid strategies, capital markets, and principal activities.