Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 211,222 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its KKR stake by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 211,222 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,285,168 shares valued at about $163.8 million.
• KKR reported solid recent fundamentals, including quarterly EPS of $1.24 on revenue of $5.74 billion, while analysts expect full-year EPS of 5.46.
• The company returned cash to shareholders by raising its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share and authorizing a $500 million stock buyback plan, which would allow repurchases of up to 0.5% of outstanding shares.

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,285,168 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 211,222 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.14% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $163,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KKR. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $535,907,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $352,038,000. Close Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4,155.1% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,515,299 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $196,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479,688 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $7,657,034,000 after acquiring an additional 821,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 3,981.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 718,536 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $91,599,000 after acquiring an additional 700,933 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of KKR stock opened at $99.61 on Friday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.67 and a 1-year high of $153.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $95.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $89.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.85.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.42% and a net margin of 13.94%. On average, research analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.17%.

KKR & Co. Inc. announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KKR. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. HSBC upgraded KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.67.

Insider Transactions at KKR & Co. Inc.

In other news, CEO Scott C. Nuttall purchased 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.66 per share, for a total transaction of $12,832,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 15,503,748 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,614,769.68. This trade represents a 0.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph Y. Bae purchased 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $102.19 per share, for a total transaction of $12,773,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 509,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,040,972.83. The trade was a 32.53% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 343,872 shares of company stock worth $34,844,179 in the last 90 days. 23.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KKR & Co. Inc. Company Profile

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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