California State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stock Position in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• CalSTRS reduced its KKR stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, selling 23,218 shares and retaining 902,674 shares valued at approximately $83.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.26% of KKR.
• KKR reported quarterly EPS of $1.39, beating estimates of $1.26, while revenue rose 38.8% year over year to $2.35 billion. The board also authorized a $500 million share-buyback program.
• KKR increased its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share, or $0.78 annualized. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $128.08, above the reported share price of $99.31.

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 902,674 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 23,218 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $83,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,715,929,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $352,038,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 164.4% in the 1st quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 3,522,797 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $325,859,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190,248 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,216,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,401,951 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $561,161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295,099 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Down 3.3%

KKR stock opened at $99.31 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. KKR & Co. Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.67 and a fifty-two week high of $153.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $95.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.52. The stock has a market cap of $89.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.79.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. KKR & Co. Inc.'s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the asset manager to buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. KKR & Co. Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on KKR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $153.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of KKR & Co. Inc. to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $120.00 to $112.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.08.

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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