California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 282,883 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• CalPERS reduced its KKR stake by 23.2% in the first quarter, selling 282,883 shares and leaving it with 936,027 shares valued at about $86.6 million.
• KKR insiders also sold shares: EVP Yael Cosset sold 30,000 shares on July 14 at $58.80 each, cutting his ownership by 19%.
• KKR has been returning capital to shareholders through a $500 million share buyback authorization and a slightly higher quarterly dividend of $0.195 per share.

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 936,027 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 282,883 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $86,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SouthState Bank Corp increased its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 228 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in KKR & Co. Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $1,764,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 127,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,518,638.40. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 23.20% of the company's stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

Shares of KKR stock opened at $100.94 on Monday. KKR & Co. Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.67 and a fifty-two week high of $153.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.79. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $95.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.34.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter. The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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 paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. 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 currently 26.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KKR shares. UBS Group upped their target price on KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $120.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

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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