Ethic Inc. Acquires 2,054 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 49.7%, acquiring an additional 2,054 shares, bringing its total to 6,190 shares valued at $729,000.
• Several institutional investors enhanced their positions in KKR, with Aberdeen Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, and others significantly increasing their shareholdings between 23.5% to 61.9%.
• KKR recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, marking a rise from its previous $0.18 dividend, with the dividend yield now at 0.5%.

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,190 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,054 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 23.5% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 266,649 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,466,000 after buying an additional 50,779 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,566,546 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $181,069,000 after purchasing an additional 16,834 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,050 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 47,023 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 16,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 12,905 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 4,936 shares during the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on KKR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res cut KKR & Co. Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on KKR & Co. Inc. in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised KKR & Co. Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut KKR & Co. Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.73.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

Shares of KKR opened at $138.0010 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.77. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.15 and a 52-week high of $170.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.95 billion, a PE ratio of 64.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.87.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 34.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KKR & Co. Inc. news, Chairman Henry R. Kravis sold 1,150,469 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.80, for a total transaction of $137,826,186.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 73,006,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,746,121,435.60. This represents a 1.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman George R. Roberts sold 1,190,094 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.80, for a total value of $142,573,261.20. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 82,171,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,844,191,703.20. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,281,394 shares of company stock valued at $413,158,033. Insiders own 39.34% of the company's stock.

KKR & Co. Inc. 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.

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