Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 146,285 Shares of KKR & Co. Inc. $KKR

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its KKR stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 146,285 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 14.99 million shares worth about $1.90 billion.
• Other institutional investors also raised their positions, and overall 76.26% of KKR’s stock is owned by institutions. Corporate insiders own 23.20% of the company.
• Analysts remain mixed on KKR: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $134.53 price target, even as some firms cut ratings or lowered targets. KKR also recently raised its quarterly dividend and approved a $500 million share buyback.

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,995,742 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 146,285 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.68% of KKR & Co. Inc. worth $1,903,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 807 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 104.0% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 47,469 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,051,000 after purchasing an additional 24,203 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,447 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KKR & Co. Inc. by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. 76.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on KKR shares. Zacks Research cut KKR & Co. Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $125.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $145.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on KKR & Co. Inc. from $177.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KKR & Co. Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.53.

KKR & Co. Inc. Price Performance

Shares of KKR opened at $94.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.21. 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 earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KKR & Co. Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

KKR & Co. Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 $0.19. KKR & Co. Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.53%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy R. Barakett bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $94.47 per share, for a total transaction of $4,723,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 285,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,923,950. This represents a 21.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 23.20% of the company's stock.

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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