Gabelli Funds LLC Trims Holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its KKR stake by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 55,245 shares and leaving it with 1,075,282 shares valued at about $137.1 million.
• KKR insiders have been buying shares, including CEO Joseph Y. Bae and Director Timothy R. Barakett, with insider purchases totaling 343,872 shares worth $34.8 million over the past three months.
• KKR returned cash to shareholders by raising its quarterly dividend to $0.195 per share and authorizing a new $500 million stock repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $134.67.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,075,282 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 55,245 shares during the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. comprises approximately 0.9% of Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.12% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $137,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KKR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 109.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $769,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in KKR & Co. Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,826,000. 76.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph Y. Bae purchased 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $102.19 per share, for a total transaction of $12,773,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 509,257 shares in the company, valued at $52,040,972.83. This represents a 32.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy R. Barakett bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $94.47 per share, with a total value of $4,723,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 285,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,923,950. The trade was a 21.28% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 343,872 shares of company stock valued at $34,844,179 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KKR shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $187.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC raised shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.67.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of KKR opened at $97.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average of $110.77. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.67 and a 52-week high of $153.87. 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. (NYSE:KKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. KKR & Co. Inc. had a return on equity of 5.42% and a net margin of 13.94%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

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

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.195 dividend. This is a boost from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. 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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