Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Grows Position in KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Gamco Investors increased its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. by 2.9% in the first quarter, owning 363,570 shares worth about $33.6 million after the additional purchase.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their KKR holdings, and overall institutional ownership stands at 76.26% of the company’s stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on KKR: analysts rate it Moderate Buy on average with a consensus price target of $128.08, while the company also recently raised its quarterly dividend and authorized a $500 million share buyback.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,570 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 10,402 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in KKR & Co. Inc. were worth $33,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 5,562 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its position in KKR & Co. Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,006 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KKR. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of KKR & Co. Inc. to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $153.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of KKR & Co. Inc. from $143.00 to $139.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.08.

Insider Transactions at KKR & Co. Inc.

In related news, EVP Yael Cosset sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 127,868 shares in the company, valued at $7,518,638.40. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 23.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KKR & Co. Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:KKR opened at $99.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $89.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $95.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.44. KKR & Co. Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.67 and a 1-year high of $153.87.

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. KKR & Co. Inc. had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 5.42%. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from KKR & Co. Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.53%.

KKR & Co. Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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