Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 74.8% in the first quarter, buying an additional 477,479 shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,116,042 shares worth about $103.2 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also added to or maintained major positions in KKR, and hedge funds now own 76.26% of the company’s stock.
• KKR shares were down 2.4% to $91.30, while the company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.195 and authorized a $500 million share repurchase program.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 74.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,116,042 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 477,479 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.13% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $103,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KKR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,064,587 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,657,034,000 after buying an additional 821,739 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,903,220,000 after acquiring an additional 146,285 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $1,715,929,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 8,597,044 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,095,951,000 after purchasing an additional 67,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,602,262 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $714,195,000 after purchasing an additional 23,483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company's stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:KKR opened at $91.30 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $81.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $97.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.87. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.67 and a 12-month high of $153.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. On average, research analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.195 dividend. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KKR. Zacks Research raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.53.

About KKR & Co. Inc.

KKR & Co Inc is a global investment firm headquartered in New York City that specializes in private markets and alternative asset management. Founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg Jr., Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, the firm built its reputation in leveraged buyouts and has since expanded into a multi-strategy asset manager. KKR operates across private equity, credit, real assets (including real estate and infrastructure), growth equity and hedge fund strategies, offering a range of investment products and strategies for institutional and private investors.

KKR manages capital through traditional closed-end funds as well as customized vehicles such as separate accounts, co-investments, and listed investment vehicles.

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